Sign Permit in Pierce, Colorado

Pierce requires a sign permit for: Sec. 16-10-50(c) (Sign permit required): 'A sign permit is required prior to the erection, installation or substantial modification of any sign that is not an exempt sign as defined in Subsection (d) below.'; Sec. 16-10-50(d) exempt signs (do not require a sign permit, but may require a building or electrical permit if subject to those codes): signs required by law (traffic control, legal notice, address numbers per building code); flags on up to 3 building- or ground-mounted flagpoles per property (32 sq ft max per flag, 8 ft min clearance); signs of de minimis area (1 sq ft or less affixed to a building, one per visible elevation; or under 0.75 sq ft affixed to machines/equipment/fences/gates/gasoline pumps/utility cabinets); holiday decorations displayed no more than 60 total days per calendar year; interior signs not visible from residential lots, abutting property, or public rights-of-way; and temporary signs compliant with Division 4; Permanent attached signs (wall, projecting, window/awning/under-canopy) are sized per Sec. 16-10-210 tables that vary by zoning district (R-1, R-2, C-1/C-2, I-1/I-2) — e.g., primary wall sign max area is 1 sq ft per 1 ft of facade width (R-1/R-2 nonresidential/multi-family) vs. 3 sq ft per 1 ft of facade width (C/I districts); Detached (monument) signs are sized per Sec. 16-10-220 — not allowed on single/two-family residential property; up to 18 sq ft per sign face (R-2 nonresidential/multi-family) or 1 sq ft per linear ft of street frontage up to 60 sq ft max (C/I districts), 4 ft max height (R-2) or 8-10 ft max height (C/I, depending on frontage); Temporary signs (yard, site, swing, sidewalk, inflatable, feather flags, banners) are subject to Sec. 16-10-320/16-10-330 number, size, height, and duration-of-display limits that vary by sign type, material, and zoning district; Electronic message centers (EMCs) are limited to one per property (two on double-sided monument/projecting signs), must be enclosed in permanent material, capped at 50% of sign face area (freestanding) or the lesser of 35% / 32 sq ft (projecting/wall), limited to a 16 mm pixel pitch, static images displayed at least 10 seconds, and automatic dimming per Sec. 16-10-140; Illumination of any kind is allowed only in the Highway 85 corridor per Sec. 16-10-130(c); internal illumination is prohibited outright in the R-1/R-2 Zoning Districts; Prohibited outright regardless of permit: signs with more than two faces, animated/moving/flashing signs (except conforming EMCs), portable signs (except conforming temporary signs), pole signs (except via an approved Sign Design Program at qualifying intersections), and abandoned signs (Sec. 16-10-120). If your project isn't listed, confirm with Town of Pierce Planning & Zoning / Building Permit Department (Town Hall) at 970-834-2851 before starting work.

Per Sec. 16-10-410 of the Pierce Municipal Code, the Chief Administrative Official must approve or deny a complete sign permit application within five business days; if no decision is made within that window, the application is automatically deemed approved.

You'll need: Sign Permit Application. Depending on your project, Pierce may also ask for: Sign Design Program Application (optional alternative track). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Pierce requires 1 inspection(s) for a sign permit, in order: Building/Electrical Inspection (illuminated or structurally-mounted signs only). Schedule each through Town of Pierce Planning & Zoning / Building Permit Department (Town Hall) (970-834-2851).

Apply through Town of Pierce Planning & Zoning / Building Permit Department (Town Hall) at 144 Main Street, Pierce, CO 80650 (PO Box 57). Phone: 970-834-2851, email: info@piercecolo.gov. Office hours: Town Hall main line (970) 834-2851, fax (970) 834-2755, per the Town's Building Permit Application form. The Town's general Contact Us page lists the same address/phone but no posted office hours; the Planning and Zoning department directs all building-permit, addition, new-construction, annexation, and remodel questions to the Town Hall main line. Inspections (not permit intake) are scheduled directly with SAFEbuilt Inc. at 970-674-1036 or 1-866-671-1036, calls before 7:30 a.m. receive same-day inspection, after 7:30 a.m. scheduled for the next working day. Note: the Contact Us page renders the street address as '144 Main Avenue' while the Town Hall page and the Building Permit Application PDF both render it as '144 Main St./144 Main Street' — treated as the same address, minor inconsistency in the Town's own CMS.. Official information: https://www.piercecolo.gov/government/departments/planning-and-zoning/pages/building-permits.

Pierce, Colorado has adopted: 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) — Town of Pierce Design Criteria page (Residential Construction Codes); 2024 Energy Conservation Code (residential) — Design Criteria page; 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — Design Criteria page (Commercial Construction Codes); 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC); 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC); 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC); 2024 International Energy Code (IECC); 2024 Pool and Spa Code; 2024 International Property Maintenance Code; 2024 International Existing Building Code; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — listed for both Residential and Commercial Construction Codes on the Design Criteria page; Note on document currency: the Town's downloadable project guides in the Building Permits 'Supporting Documents' list are titled for the prior code cycle ('2018 IRC Accessory Structures Guide', '2018 IRC Decks Guide', '2018 IRC Home Additions Guide', '2018 Pole Barns Guide', '2018 Swimming Pools Guide', '2018 IRC Basement Finish Guide', '2018 IRC Patio Covers - Carports Guide', '2018 IRC Window Replacement', '2018 IRC Re-Roof Guide', '2020 NEC - Significant Changes Residential') even though the Town's live Design Criteria page lists 2024 IRC/IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/Pool-Spa/Property-Maintenance/Existing-Building codes plus 2023 NEC as currently adopted. As in this corpus's established pattern (e.g. Vail), the actively maintained Design Criteria webpage is treated as the current, governing adopted-code list; the 2018/2020-titled PDFs are legacy guidance documents whose filenames were not renamed when the Town's adopted-code edition was updated.; State-level requirement: Electric Ready, Solar Ready, and EV Ready provisions apply per the Town's Design Criteria page, consistent with Colorado's HB22-1362 statewide energy-code floor (2021 IECC baseline plus electric/solar/EV-ready provisions, in effect July 2023-July 2026) — Pierce's own 2024 IECC adoption already meets or exceeds this floor, and the Town's page lists the electric/solar/EV-ready provisions as an explicit, separate 'State Code Requirements' item rather than folding them silently into the IECC line.. Local amendments apply — see the Pierce overview page for the full list.

No. Sec. 16-10-50(d) exempts certain signs from the sign permit requirement, including required regulatory signs, up to three flags per property, small de minimis signs, holiday decorations displayed 60 days or fewer per year, non-visible interior signs, and temporary signs that comply with the Sign Code's temporary-sign standards. Exempt signs may still need a separate building or electrical permit if illuminated or structurally mounted.