EMC sign permit Laws of Orlando, Florida
- Appropriateness: Signs must blend with the land, building, and use, being "adequate, but not excessive, for their intended purpose." The goal is integration, not overwhelming.
- Permit Required: Most permanent signs, including yours, will need a building permit. This triggers a review by both the Building and Zoning Officials.
- No New Billboards: The code strictly prohibits new off-site billboards, focusing on signs that are accessory and directly related to the property.
- Table of Allowable Signs (Table 1): This is the core document, outlining what signs are permitted in different zoning districts, along with specific limits on size, height, and features.
- Review Boards: Certain areas (Downtown Orlando CRA, historic districts, Appearance Review Areas, MXD zoning districts) require additional approval from boards like the Appearance Review Board or Historic Preservation Board.
1. Channel Letter Signs (Static Wall Signs)
Likely Permitted, but with Significant Area and Height Limitations.
- What are they? Channel letters are a common type of sign typically mounted directly to a building wall.
- General Rules: Like all wall signs, they must be properly illuminated (without negatively impacting surroundings or drivers), maintained, and cannot block exits.
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Maximum Allowable Sign Area (This is crucial for your 6x19 ft sign):
- Your Sign Size: A 6x19 foot sign is 114 square feet.
- Commercial (AC), Mixed-Use (MU), Industrial (I) Districts: You're generally allowed two square feet of total sign area for each linear foot of ground floor tenant space frontage. To accommodate your 114 sq. ft. sign, you would need at least 57 linear feet of primary building frontage (114 sq. ft. / 2 sq. ft. per linear foot).
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Office (O) and Mixed Residential-Office (MXD) Districts: The allowance is more restrictive:
- O-1/MXD-1: Maximum of 24 sq. ft.
- O-3/MXD-2: Maximum of 72 sq. ft.
- Conclusion: Your 114 sq. ft. channel letter sign would require substantial frontage in commercial/industrial zones and would likely exceed the limits in most office/mixed-residential zones.
- Maximum Height: Wall signs can typically be a maximum of 30 feet above ground level to their highest point. They generally cannot extend above the roofline, unless it's a parapet designed to match the building (not exceeding 6 feet above the roofline and not braced back to it).
2. 6x19 Foot EMC (Electronic Message Display Area)
Potentially Permitted, but ONLY as a Component of a Freestanding Sign, and Your Proposed Size Faces Significant Hurdles.
- What is it? The code refers to "Electronic Message Center (digital images)" and "Electronic Message Display Area," typically part of a freestanding sign (like a monument or pole sign).
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Size - This is the BIGGEST challenge for your 6x19 ft (114 sq. ft.) EMC:
- General Limits: Most zoning districts (O-1, MXD-1, MXD-2, O-2, O-3, MU-1, MU-2, AC-NA, AC-1, AC-2, AC-3) restrict electronic message display areas to a maximum of 24 sq. ft.
- Slightly Larger Limits: Some zones (A/TIG, IC, IPP, and "All Other Zones") allow up to 40 sq. ft.
- Downtown Special Sign District: While Electronic Message Centers are allowed here, the specific size limits for the display area itself aren't detailed in the provided information.
- Conclusion: Your 114 sq. ft. EMC is significantly larger than the generally permitted 24 sq. ft. or 40 sq. ft. display areas. This will be a major point of contention.
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Freestanding Sign Requirements (for the overall sign that would contain the EMC):
- Minimum Frontage: Your site must have at least 40 feet of frontage.
- Separation: No freestanding sign can be within 40 feet of another freestanding sign.
- Maximum Number: Generally, only one freestanding sign per street frontage is allowed, or two if the frontage is over 400 feet.
- Setbacks: Strict setback rules apply from property lines, rights-of-way, and residential-zoned properties (e.g., 5-10 ft from ROW, 5 ft from property boundaries, 10-20 ft from residential-zoned property).
- Maximum Area Per Sign (Overall Freestanding Sign): Even the total maximum area for an entire freestanding sign in most zones (excluding special allowances for shopping centers) is often limited to 100 sq. ft. (AC-N, AC-1, AC-2, AC-3, A/TIG, IC, IPP). Your 114 sq. ft. EMC alone already exceeds this general limit for the entire sign face.
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Conditional Use Permit (CUP) - This is Critical: Footnote (7) in Table 1B and 1C states: "All permanent signs require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Standards will be established with the CUP approval process (see Ch. 65 Part 2D - Conditional Use Permit)."
- This means that even if your sign could technically fit within some parameters, it's not automatically approved. A CUP involves a discretionary review process where the city can impose specific conditions and standards, and approval is not guaranteed.