Sign Permits
If you want to erect a business sign in Garrett you must first obtain a “Sign Permit.” These permits are available in the Garrett Planning Department, City Hall.
The permit fee is $50.00; payable at the time you are issued the permit. A late fee of $50.00 will be charged to you if you erect a sign before obtaining a permit.
You need to provide a simple drawing of your sign, indicating how and where it will be mounted, placed or erected, when you apply for your permit.
Sign permits are valid for 1 year from the date of issue.
If you are installing a free-standing sign mounted on posts you will also need to obtain a free dig permit when you obtain your sign permit.
If you are denied a sign permit, you may petition the Garrett Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance.
No permanent sign, whether an awning, free-standing, illuminated, portable, projecting, roof or wall sign can be erected within, or extend over, a public right-of-way. Most public rights-of-way in Garrett are 65 feet wide. A right-of-way line also serves as your front property line. A right-of-way line may also serve as one of your side or rear property lines if your property is a corner lot, or if it is adjacent to an alley.
A quick way to estimate where the right-of-way line is located is to measure 32.5 feet from the middle of the street pavement in front of your property. Your business sign must be located behind this line. The setback requirement for your sign is determined by the sign size. The exact location of the line will have to be determined by checking an aerial plat or through a land survey.
The size and number of signs permitted for a business depends on which zoning district the business is located. Please check with the Garrett Planning Department to find out how many signs are permitted in your district.
One of the primary reasons for sign regulations is to ensure that a sign does impede traffic safety or block the vision of motorists.
You can attach a sign to your building, however you can’t erect the sign to a height greater than the height of your building.
Businesses located near neighborhoods, as well as downtown, can keep peace with their neighbors by following a few simple rules, as follows:
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Illuminated signs are permitted within 50 feet of a residential property if the sign is designed so that
it does not reflect or shine light onto such property.
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No freestanding sign shall be erected or maintained within 10 feet of any side lot line.
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All signs, temporary or permanent, shall be constructed or maintained in a presentable manner for the life of the sign.
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If your business is located downtown, you may hang a sign over the sidewalk if 25 percent of the lots on the block are already occupied by business uses and overhanging signs are already established.
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Semi-trailers are made to haul things. Semi-trailers, whether operational or not operational, cannot be used as stationary advertising signs.
