Sign permits in North Saanich

What needs a permit

• No sign may be erected, constructed or altered without a permit (section 4.1).
• Exempt: signs required by a development permit or variance permit, unlit window signs covering no more than 25% of the window, small entrance and exit signs, and signs inside a business.
• Signs in place before the bylaw can stay but must conform if replaced or moved.

Key rules

• Prohibited: billboards, moving signs, roof signs and illuminated home occupation signs.
• Double-sided signs must have parallel faces no more than 0.3 m apart, and no sign may have more than two faces.
• The Director may require drawings sealed by a BC Professional Engineer, and may refuse a permit if the building cannot support the sign.
• A permit expires if work has not started within six months.

How to apply

• Apply on the Building Permit Application form to Building Inspection, with plans showing the sign's dimensions and weight, height and clearance, a site plan, its position on the building, lighting colours if lit, and its estimated market value.
• Fees (Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 1471): $75 for a new sign permit; no charge to alter a sign that already has a permit.

Lit signs and electrical approval

The District of North Saanich sign permit covers size, placement and appearance. Electrical safety is a separate approval. In BC, the Electrical Safety Regulation does not allow electrical equipment to be used or sold unless it carries an accredited certification mark. For an electric sign the Canadian standard is CSA C22.2 No. 207, and the mark goes on the finished sign. The connection is made by a licensed electrician under an electrical permit. More in our guide to cUL certified signs.

Sources