City of Spokane - Municipal Code

Title 17C Land Use Standards

Section 17C.240.230 Standards in the Commercial and Industrial Zones

General Standards and Sign Features.
The standards for permanent signs and sign features in the Commercial and Industrial zones are stated in Tables 17C.240-2 and 17C.240-3. All signs must conform to the regulations of SMC 17C.240.240.

Table 17C.240-2 Standards for Permanent Signs in Commercial, Center and Corridor, and Industrial Zones [1]
	DTC, DTG, DTU, DTS, GC, LI & HI	CC2 & CB [2]	O, OR, NR, NMU	CC1 [2]	CC4 [2]
SIGNS ATTACHED TO BUILDINGS
Size Allocation	1-1/2 sq. ft. per 1 ft. of primary building wall or 15 percent of the primary building wall, whichever is greater	1 sq. ft. per 1 ft. of primary building wall if a freestanding sign is also on the same street frontage, 1-1/2 sq. ft. per 1 ft. of primary building wall if there is no freestanding sign on the same street frontage	Same	Same	15 sq. ft
Maximum Number	No limit within size allocation	Same	Same	Same	1
Maximum Area Per Sign	250 sq. ft. in the DT Zones, the maximum area per sign attached to a building is not limited	100 sq. ft.	50 sq. ft.	50 sq. ft	15 sq. ft
Minimum Guaranteed Sign Area for a Ground Floor Tenant Space	32 sq. ft.	Same	Same	Same	15 sq. ft.
TYPES ALLOWED
Fascia, Awning, Marquee, Pitched Roof, Painted Wall	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Projecting	Yes, but no projecting signs if a freestanding sign is also on the same street frontage	Same	Same	Same	Same
Rooftop	Yes	No	No	No	No
FREESTANDING SIGNS
Maximum Number	1 per site or 1 per 300 ft. of arterial street frontage and 1 for each additional 300 ft. or fraction thereof [3]	1 per arterial street frontage	1 per arterial street frontage	1 monument sign per arterial street frontage	1 monument sign per building
When Not Allowed	Not Limited	Not allowed if there is already a projecting sign on the same site frontage, or if existing signs attached to buildings exceed the limit of 1 sq. ft. to 1 ft. of primary building wall	Same	Same	Not allowed if there is already a wall or projecting sign
Size Allocation for All Freestanding Signs	1 sq. ft. per 1 ft. of arterial street frontage Local street frontage can be used if there are not arterial site frontages	Same	Same	Same	15 sq. ft.
Size Limit	250 sq. ft.	75 sq. ft. [5]	50 sq. ft. [5]	50 sq. ft.	15 sq. ft.
Maximum Height [6]	35 ft. in the DTS zone, the maximum height is 60 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	5 ft.	5 ft.
ADDITIONAL SIGNS ALLOWED
Directional Signs, Temporary Signs	See SMC 17C.240.240(H) and SMC 17C.240.240(G)
Yes = Allowed No = Prohibited Notes: [1] Temporary signs are regulated under SMC 17C.240.240(H), Temporary Signs. [2] Signs in CC zones are subject to the standards and guidelines contained in the Initial Design Standards and Guidelines for Centers and Corridors. [3] On sites with frontages longer than 300 feet, sign area earned from the first 300 feet may not be used on the second sign. For example, a 350-foot street frontage may have a 200 sq. ft. and a 50 sq. ft. freestanding sign. Interstate freeways, United States highways, state routes that are not also City of Spokane Arterials are not considered arterial streets for purposes of this Title. Sites with frontage on more than one arterial are allowed a freestanding sign on each arterial. The size allocation for each freestanding sign shall be calculated independently using only the length of the arterial frontage adjacent to the freestanding sign. The square footage allowance for freestanding signs for one arterial shall not be transferred to other arterials. [4] Where a site has no arterial street frontage, one freestanding sign is allowed. [5] The maximum sign area may be an additional twenty-five square feet for each additional business on a site having more than one business, up to a maximum area of one hundred fifty square feet. [6] This height limit is for the total height of the combined sign face and sign structure. [7] These signs may be allowed in addition to signs attached to buildings and freestanding signs when they meet the standards of SMC 17C.240.240(H) and SMC 17C.240.240(G).

Table 17C.240-3 Sign Features for All Signs in Tables 17C.240-1 and 17C.240-2
	GC, CC2, Downtown, CB, LI & HI	O, OR, NR, NMU, CC1 & CC4
Electronic Message Center Sign Features	Yes [1]	Yes [1] Not Permitted in CC4 Zone
Lighting	Direct, Indirect, or Internal	Same
Maximum Distance Extending into ROW	See SMC 17C.240.240(C)	Same
Maximum Area Extending into ROW	See SMC 17C.240.240(C)	Same
Bonus Allowance for Outstanding Design	See SMC 17C.240.290	Same
Yes = Allowed No = Prohibited Notes: [1] Electronic Message Center sign features are allowed in the GC, CC2, Downtown, CB, LI, HI O, OR, NR, NMU, & CC1 zones if they meet the standards of SMC 17C.240.240(J), Electronic Message Center Signs.

Date Passed: Monday, July 23, 2012

Effective Date: Thursday, August 30, 2012

ORD C34888 Section 17

SPOKANE MUNICIPAL CODE