What minimum signs will make both YOUR City and its businesses successful?

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Quoting U. S. Small Business Administration research, 89% of businesses that fail do so because of improper signs! Stated differently, good signs give a business an almost 90% probability of success.

Is your City helping your local businesses, or unintentionally hurting their chances of survival?

Celebrating 29 Years Outdoor business signs in front of your city's businesses are the least costly means of advertising available to a business over time. It is the most targeted advertising a business can do according to the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which also states that 85% of a business’ sales usually come from within a 5 mile radius. Local business!

Proper signs constantly advertise a business to a potential customer who frequents the area where the business is located. And with 18.6% of the entire US population moving each year, your city's business signs will be constantly seen by MANY new potential customers.

We are told by our suppliers that we are the largest custom sign company in the Metroplex. Because of this we talk to a lot of people who are contemplating forming new businesses. It is shocking the number of businesses that decide NOT to locate in a particular city when they hear about that city’s sign restrictions, especially the larger companies.

For instance, how important is a free-standing pylon sign to a business? McDonald's Restaurants says that simply changing a monument sign in front of one of their stores to a pylon sign increases their store's business by 15%. A Whataburger that was unhappy with their new store's volume removed their brand-new pylon sign and installed one 40% larger and taller. The store's volume increased 23% the day after installation, and sales have exceeded the previous month for more than 5 years now. Both the business and City revenues grow each year.

The SBA says that an LED Message Center increases store volume 15 - 150%.

Having the right signs helps a business survive by bringing higher sales volume.

Most businesses cannot survive with 15% less business.

The dual purposes of a good business sign ARE identification and communication.

City Signs Ordinances can doom a business, and stifle growth and revenue in a city.

"...See that Which-Wich business? He's going to be out of business in less than a year only because his sign is so small. Our City Sign Ordinance forced him to do this. But now because we don't want this shopping center to be a ghost town we're letting businesses put up pretty much whatever they need to stay in business regardless of what our Sign Ordinance says, if they know to ask the right people like you do. Unfortunately, our next mayor thinks that businesses do not need signs, so most new businesses that come here will also be doomed."

A City Sign Inspector who asked to remain anonymous, but one who cares

Sign Design Safety Issues

According to Larsen Transportation Institute at Penn State University studies, signs that are too small to be read easily under existing driving conditions cause traffic congestion and accidents, in addition to not helping a business become successful. (Some cities have MINIMUM letter-size restrictions.)

Also, monument signs can potentially block traffic visibility and cause accidents at driveways and intersections. Moving them away from the street makes them more dangerous and less effective unless they are significantly larger so the lettering can be larger.

Externally lighted signs (ie: floodlights) cause traffic congestion and accidents on dark or rainy days, and at night.

Monument signs, because of their smaller lettering when compared to pole signs and pylon signs, cause traffic congestion and accidents, as verified by a different Penn State study. They are more distracting and less effective than pylon signs.

Electronic Message Centers do not cause traffic accidents or congestion according to two studies by Tantala Associates, a consulting-engineering firm. For a copy of the study email jgolimowski@oaaa.org.

Walgreen's Drug Stores changed all the changeable-copy signs they were allowed (they have one in front of every store) to electronic message centers because of the rash of injuries their employees suffered changing the plastic-letter copy with a 16' long pole every day.

An excellent place to learn about the critical, mechanical, aspects of sign design necessary for a safe and successful sign is at www.usscfoundation.org/USSCGuidelineStandards.pdf. You should read this before creating sign ordinances; there will be less congestion and fewer accidents in business districts.

Businesses in your City will be more successful, also!

Avoiding Complications

The US Supreme Court has consistently upheld that:

Sign Ordinances cannot restrict a businesses constitutional guarantee of unfettered free-speech without narrowly-defined reasoning. Even the colors of a sign, in the case of a registered trademark, have been protected by the Court as free-speech in several cases.

Different aesthetic and/or safety standards cannot be applied to different classes of sign users. For example, a 50 square foot lighted pylon sign 10 feet tall cannot be allowed for a school sign, but disallowed for a church sign without exceptional overriding circumstances. Houston's total sign ordinance was voided by the Court because it differentiated between governmental and business signs. Houston businesses were then allowed by the Court to erect ANY sign without City restrictions.

Detached signs (i.e. pole signs, pylon signs, monument signs) are Real Property. The use of an existing sign cannot be denied by governmental authority without just compensation.

Your Vision of the Future

Many cities in this area seem intent on eliminating future pole or pylon signs in business districts, in favor of monument signs, despite studies that show that this reduces a business’ sales by over 15%, particularly if older competitors still have the more visible signs, and increases accident rates. To eliminate all of the old signs, to level the playing field for businesses the city must buy them from businesses at fair-market-value.

A lighted monument sign encased in brick cost a business twice as much as a pole sign 50% larger.

Unless a city is also eliminating telephone poles, power poles, parking lot lights, street signs and street lights eliminating tall signs does little to “reduce downtown clutter.” It does, however, force businesses to build closer to the street, and severely trim trees and shrubbery, so that their stores are more visible with the loss of the taller signs.

Changing the size of allowed signs, or height restrictions, or set-backs from public property does nothing to “reduce downtown clutter” but does penalize the competitiveness of all new businesses. To require all old signs to conform the city must buy them from businesses at fair-market-value.

LED lighting is the future, because of energy-efficiency, yet many cities are trying to restrict it. Somehow they feel that a sign that automatically changes its message is a safety hazard, even in the face of studies that this is not true.

The Highway Department uses them to safely communicate with drivers.

Even if a sign were to change its message as often as every 15 seconds the only people on a business street who will view two changes are stopped for a traffic light. This does not create an aesthetic problem, other than these new signs being more visible than old-style signs.

It can even be argued that a full-color LED display is much prettier than a sign with changeable plastic letters!

Give businesses a break!

To read what USA TODAY Newspaper says about the cost of signs "click" on their logo to the left.

Your City's Businesses Dilemma

Advertising is tough for local businesses. Look at their costs, below.

The “Average” Cost of Advertising

Advertising Medium	Cost Per 1000 Exposures
Mailer (in Envelope)	$ 790.00*
Mailer (Post Card)	$ 380.00*
Newspaper	$ 7.39*
Television	$ 6.26*
Radio	$ 5.47*
Average Channel Letter Sign*	$ .14
Average Free-Standing Sign*	$ .27
Average Free-Standing Sign w/ Electronic Message Center*	$ 1.17

* US Small Business Administration figures. Assumes 10,000 cars per day – a very conservative figure for ANY business street, only 1 person in each car, and only a 10 year useful life for the sign. ALL very conservative!

Most of the Newspaper, Television and Radio consumers reached are not in most businesses marketing area, a 5 mile radius of their store according to the US Small Business Administration. The actual cost of reaching a POTENTIAL consumer by these means is unknown, but much higher.

Mailing list costs are not included.

A Proactive Solution

What about Message Centers leading into your business district that your local businesses can advertise on?

Signs Help Your City's Income

All detached signs, signs not attached to a building, also help the City by creating substantial income for the City.

To deny businesses, churches, and schools to benefit from use of these signs hurts the City's income.

Of course all signs are taxed for sales/use tax when they are installed.

But because detached signs are "real property" they are also levied property taxes.

In the case of electronic message centers, denying their use will potentially deprive the city of many thousands of dollars in income per year simply because the signs are quite expensive.

It is not uncommon for the combined property taxes on a single electronic message center to exceed $3,000 per year.

State Licensed Sign Installation and Service

Electrical sign companies operating in Texas must be State licensed. A few localities have local licenses good only in their city, though.

Also, a Texas recognized Master Sign Electrician, Master Electrician, or a design professional approved by Texas statute must design ALL electrical sign and installation circuits installed in Texas. These are Texas consumer protection laws.

For rule and regulation details contact Mr. Jerry Daniels at the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (512-799-1489 cell.) (or http://www.license.state.tx.us/elec.htm)

If you wonder if a "sign company" can legally install and service electrical signs through-out Texas go to http://www.license.state.tx.us/LicenseSearch/, enter "Electricians" in the "Inquire by License Type" box and the name of the sign business or person in the "Inquire by Name" box. If they are not licensed they can not.

Underwriter’s Laboratory Listed Signs

The National Electric Code (NEC) adopted by most cities as their electrical regulations, and the State of Texas require that all electrical signs be listed (tested and labeled.)

ALL cities (and the State of Texas) adopt the National Electric Code as part of their laws. A few cities allow their inspectors to approve an individual sign, but not many!

Underwriter's Laboratory is the premier national listing organization and almost EVERYTHING electrical is tested by them.

Whether it's channel letters, a wall cabinet sign, a Monument sign, pole or pylon signs, electronic message centers, neon or other electric signs Underwriter’s Laboratory poses the toughest design, structural, electrical, and installation standards of any testing company on the products they approve.

There are only 126 sign companies in all of Texas listed by U.L. There are many that pretend to be! (Our signs are U. L. Listed - File #UXYT.E149959)

Underwriter’s Laboratory does NOT judge the appearance, appeal, or the longevity of a product.

This is why our many years of experience serving international, national, regional and local customers, and our investment so that we can apply the knowledge we’ve gained, give businesses a superior product which will impress their customers for years to come.

To see if a manufacturer is a UL listed sign manufacturer go to http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/ccnsrch.html and enter "UXYT" in the Control Number (CCN) box.

We are Willing to Help You

If you consider this information helpful, we will provide you with any support we can.

We will even attend your City planning meetings.

We "...don't have a dog in the hunt." No matter what your cities sign restrictions are, we will still make your city's business signs. But we do want our signs to help our customers become successful.

Credentials of Bill Watson:

Formed 5 successful retail corporations (I understand what businesses need to enable them to be successful)
30 years in the sign industry (I am knowledgeable of sign ordinances through-out the US) Semi-retired.
Versed in the legality of sign laws (Commercial freedom-of-speech)
Versed in sign-safety issues.
Texas licensed Master Electrician and Texas licensed Master Sign Electrician.
Texas licensed Electrical Contractor and Texas licensed Sign Contractor.
Electronic Message Center knowledgeable.
Expert witness.
University Graduate (BBA)

Credentials of Signs Manufacturing Corporation:

Established 1979. Signs Manufacturing makes more than lighted and unlighted business signs. We manufacture, install and service church signs, school signs, apartment signs, park signs, governmental signs, architectural signs, etc. Interior signs as well as exterior signs.

We manufacture road signs and building signs including channel letter signs (lighted with neon or LED), neon signs, wall sign cabinets, pole signs, pylon signs, monument signs, message centers, plastic and metal lettering, plaques and more.

We perform metal, plastic, brick and masonry construction.

Over 60,000 Signs Manufactured and Installed We serve and have installed signs in the Texas cities of Addison, Aledo, Allen, Alvarado, Anna, Argyle, Arlington, Athens, Aubrey, Avalon, Azle, Balch Springs, Bedford, Benbrook, Blue Mound, Bonham, Briar, Bridgeport, Buckingham, Burleson, Caddo Mills, Canton, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Celina, Cleburne, Cockrell Hill, Colleyville, The Colony, Combine, Coppell, Corsicana, Crandall, Crowley, Dallas, Dalworthington Gardens, Decatur, Denison, Denton, Desoto, D/FW Airport, Dido, Duncanville, Eagle Mountain Lake, Edgecliff, Ennis, Euless, Everman, Farmers Branch, Farmersville, Ferris, Flower Mound, Forest Hill, Forney, Fort Worth, Frisco, Gainesville, Garland, Glenn Heights, Granbury, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Greenville, Gun Barrel City, Haltom City, Haslet, Highland Park, Hillsboro, Hudson Oaks, Hurst, Hutchins, Irving, Italy, Itasca, Jacksboro, Joshua, Justin, Kaufman, Keene, Keller, Kennedale, Kleberg, Krum, Lake Dallas, Lake Worth, Lakeside, Lancaster, Las Colinas, Lawson, Lewisville, Little Elm, Longview, Mansfield, Marshall, Maypearl, McKinney, Melissa, Mesquite, Midlothian, Milford, Mineral Wells, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon, Murphy, Nevada, Newark, North Richland Hills, Ovilla, Palmer, Pantego, Paris, Parker County, Pelican Bay, Pittsburg, Plano, Ponder, Princeton, Prosper, Quinlan, Quitman, Red Oak, Rendon, Richardson, Richland Hills, Rice, River Oaks, Roanoke, Rockwall, Rowlett, Royse City, Sachse, Saginaw, Sansom Park, Sanger, Seagoville, Sherman, Silver Creek, Southlake, Springtown, Stephenville, Sulphur Springs, Sunnyvale, Terrell, Texarkana, Trophy Club, Tyler, University Park, Van Alstyne, Valley View, Watauga, Waxahachie, Weatherford, Wedgewood, Westlake, Weston, Westover Hills, Wheatland, White Settlement, Whitney, Wichita Falls, Willow Park, Wills Point, Wilmer, and Wylie.

Please use and enjoy this 387 page website with over 2000 images, the largest information resource about signs on the internet, created in part so you can learn about all types of signs and how you can control their affect on your business community's image.

If you click this "LITERATURE DOWNLOADS" tab you can download "Sign Buyer's Guide" ".pdf" files for your records and/or to give to your fellow planners. They contain all the specific design, manufacturing, and installation information for each type of signs.

Energy-Saving Solutions

We champion energy-saving signs solutions that save our customers money while protecting our environment. No matter what type of signs your City is considering, please explore our "Lighting Choices" tab for that product, with its own "Energy Savings" tab to learn about electrical efficiencies and related costs and savings.