1. WHY SIGN REVIEW IS REQUIRED

The location, size, and design elements, including materials and colors, of each application for an exterior sign are reviewed to ensure that the City?s requirements contained in Chapter 15.12, Sign Control, of the Foster City Municipal Code (FCMC) are met. The purpose of this requirement is to help preserve and improve the appearance and character of Foster City by ensuring that new signs are designed to primarily identify a business or development, are restrained in character, and are harmonious with the design, materials and colors, and size of the building or development to which they are related.

Signs are also regulated to ensure that they promote both the goals and objectives of the community and the public health, safety, and general welfare. The City?s sign regulations contribute to the stability of property values. This review ensures that individual rights are weighed against the needs and requirements of the community. Review of proposed new and replacement signs ensures that new or replacement signs conform to current community standards and that any nonconforming signs are brought into compliance with the existing regulations at the time the sign is replaced.

2. WHEN SIGN REVIEW IS REQUIRED

Sign Review approval is required for most new or replacement signs located on the exterior of a building or other structure on a property. Examples of exemptions from Sign Review include the following: change in the text/copy in the same approved material and color (all other aspects of the sign remain unchanged), signs placed on the interior of the property not intended to be seen by the general public, political signs, and "for sale/lease" and garage sale signs which meet the exemption criteria in Section 15.12.120 of the FCMC.

Please note that some types of interior signs, such as neon or interior signs intended to advertise to the public outside of the building, may not be permitted or may require a permit. Therefore, the Planning/Code Enforcement Division recommends that you speak to a Planner at the public counter or on the phone (650/286-3225) to confirm whether your proposed sign requires a Sign Review permit prior to purchasing or installing any signs.

3. PRE-APPLICATION REVIEW

• Discuss general information and application submittal requirements with staff -- You may wish to review your proposal with a Planning/Code Enforcement Division staff member prior to submitting your application. Staff can advise you about the provisions of the Sign Ordinance (Chapter 15.12, Sign Control, of the City?s Municipal Code) or the approved sign program for a specific commercial center/development at the public counter during regular business hours (from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., including the lunch hour). 

For minor applications such as temporary real estate signs or temporary banners, you may also request this information over the phone (650/286-3225) with the "planner on duty".

• Submit preliminary information -- As a complementary service, staff can provide written or verbal comments on your preliminary sign proposal before you submit an official application for Sign Review. Submittal requirements vary depending on the scope and type of signage proposed. Typical information requested includes the following: a brief cover letter explaining the details of the proposal, a site plan sketch indicating all existing and proposed signage, an elevation drawing of the proposed sign drawn to scale, proposed color samples. Photos are optional. You may submit your proposal at the public counter or by mail. For simple proposals, staff?s review usually occurs within a one-two week time frame; more detailed proposals may require more time.

• Schedule an appointment with staff -- You may request an appointment with a Planning/Code Enforcement Division staff member by phone or by submitting the attached form, "Request For An Appointment With Community Development Department Staff."

Regarding signs located in the CM/PD (Commercial Mix/Planned Development) District (along Triton and Pilgrim Drives), the M-1/PD (Light Industrial/Planned Development) District (along Hatch Drive and the most northern area of Chess Drive, or in business parks (Vintage Park Drive), a specific sign program most likely exists for each particular planned development. Sometimes a business operator has signed a lease that includes signage that is not permitted in the City?s Sign Ordinance. Therefore, before you sign a lease that includes any type of signage, staff recommends that you check which sign colors, materials, sizes, and locations are allowed. This is a critical step to avoid potential problems.

No permit shall be issued for a sign to be located in a commercial center until sign guidelines have been approved for the center and the sign complies with the provisions thereof. Please check with staff to ascertain which commercial centers have had sign guidelines approved.

4. APPLICATION

Sign Review officially begins when the applicant (or representative) submits a completed application form with the property owner?s signature or another form of written authorization and the required plans and pays the application fee. The staff member receiving the application will do a cursory check to determine that the basic items required have been included with the application. The submittal requirements and an application form are attached.

5. FEES AND DEPOSITS

Depending on the type of sign application, a fee or initial deposit will be charged at the time of application submittal, as established by the City Council. The fee for temporary real estate, temporary promotional, public convenience, and prototypical signs is $17.50. The fee for all other administrative sign applications is $35.00.



The fee deposit for signs requiring review by the Planning Commission is $100.00. Projects reviewed by the Planning Commission are billed on a time and materials basis. (All staff time spent reviewing the project and any extraordinary materials required to process the project are charged to an applicant.) If the staff time spent on your project exceeds your deposit (the initial application fee/deposit), you will be billed accordingly. For projects that require Planning Commission review, it is very likely that a billing requiring an additional payment will follow the processing of your application.

6. REVIEW FOR COMPLETENESS

A Planner will review the plans for completeness and will contact the applicant if additional information is needed. Incomplete applications and/or plans delay processing, so please review the attached submittal requirements carefully. Even though an application is determined to be complete, additional information may be required to clarify, amplify, correct or otherwise supplement the information submitted.

7. SCHEDULING

Most sign applications are assigned to a project planner and are reviewed later following a site visit. The "planner on duty" at the counter may act on minor Sign Review applications such as temporary real estate signs or temporary banners if all required information is provided at the time of submittal. A few Sign Review applications, including Sign Use Permits, require review by the Planning Commission. When staff determines that an application is complete, it is scheduled for the next available Planning Commission meeting, which are held on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 600 Foster City Boulevard.

8. CRITERIA FOR REVIEW

The basic intent of the review of exterior signs is to ensure that signs accomplish the following (paraphrased from Section 15.12.080, Criteria for sign approval, of the City?s Municipal Code):

1. Signs shall be restrained in character and are no larger than necessary for adequate identification.
2. Signs shall serve primarily to identify the business, the establishment, or type of activity conducted on the same premises, or the interest being exhibited or offered for sale, rent or lease thereon.
3. Signs which are used as identification devices shall not excessively compete for the citizen?s attention.
4. Signs shall be harmonious with the materials, colors, texture, size, shape, height, location and design of the building, landscaping, property or environment of which it is a part. Signs attached to buildings shall be incorporated into the architecture of the building in placement, style, proportions, materials, and finish.
5. Sign designs shall be consistent with professional graphic standards.
6. Freestanding or monument signs as defined in Section 15.12.020, Definitions, shall require a landscape planter around the base of the sign, containing shrubs and/or ground cover and flowering annual and/or perennial flowers. The size of such landscape planter shall be approved as part of the sign permit.
7. Sign illumination, where allowed by provisions of this Chapter 15.12, shall be at the lowest level consistent with adequate identification and readability.
8. Sign illumination shall be as defined in Sections 15.12.020, Definitions, and shall comply with the provisions of Section 15.12.160, of Chapter 15.12, Sign Control, of the City?s Municipal Code.
9. Internally illuminated signs where the entire face of the sign is illuminated rather than just the graphics are not in keeping with the desired character of signage within the City and shall be prohibited, unless otherwise allowed by provisions of Chapter 15.12, Sign Control, of the City?s Municipal Code.

9. ACTION

In most cases, the Planning/Code Enforcement Division staff, in accordance with the criteria set forth in the Chapter 15.12, Sign Control, of the City?s Municipal Code or in the specific sign program approved for a specific commercial center/development, will act to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application. A notification of the action taken will be mailed to you. This action is final unless appealed in writing within ten days of the date of action. Contact Planning/Code Enforcement Division staff for additional information regarding appeal procedures and requirements. A few types of applications, including Sign Use Permits, require approval by the Planning Commission at a Public Hearing. Sign Permits shall not have any force and effect until the permittee acknowledges receipt thereof and acceptance of any conditions thereto.

10. APPEALS

In case the applicant or any other person is not satisfied with any decision to approve or deny a sign permit, the applicant or any other person may appeal a decision of the Community Development Director or Planning Commission by submitting a letter of appeal or completed appeal form and the required filing fee within ten (10) calendar days of the date of the decision. If the tenth day falls on a weekend or a holiday, the appeal period ends at 5:00 p.m. on the next working day. For signs requiring a building permit, no building permits can be issued while an appeal is pending. A letter of appeal or completed appeal form must specify:

• The person making the appeal
• The specific item(s) of appeal, and all supporting documentation
• The basis for such appeal and information substantiating the basis for appeal (e.g., failure to comply with the City's General Plan, State or local laws; or stating reasons why the action of the Community Development Director or Planning Commission would adversely affect surrounding property, the neighborhood and/or the City)
• The relief or action sought

Decisions of the Community Development Director may be appealed to the Planning Commission, and decisions of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council. The appeal shall be scheduled on an agenda for consideration on the earliest available hearing date as determined by the City, but no later than thirty (30) days from receipt of the appeal and filing fee. In any appeal, the burden of proof is upon the appellant. Appeals of Use Permit decisions will require a new Notice of Public Hearing (see Scheduling section above). In any appeal, the burden is on the appellant. If an appeal is filed, the original applicant will be responsible for providing additional copies of drawings as requested by staff.

11. CONSTRUCTION

Unless a building permit is required for your sign, once you have signed the acknowledgment of the conditions of approval, which are attached to a sign permit, and the appeal period has expired, you may construct or install the sign. A standard condition of approval requires that you notify Planning/Code Enforcement Division staff within seven days after completion of the sign.

Sign Permits Application and Information