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Sign Permit in Cottonwood Heights, Utah

Required to erect, convert, or display most signs in Cottonwood Heights under City Code chapter 19.82 (Signs). Monument, wall, and projecting signs are each independently regulated by size/height/setback charts specific to the zoning district. The city's Fee Schedule lists a $150 zoning review fee under 'Signs and building permits.' Re-chased 2026-07-20: the live fee schedule page (previously only reachable via a Wayback snapshot because a direct curl returned HTTP 403) was successfully re-fetched through a reader-proxy, confirming it is CURRENT (not a stale artifact) and that 'Wall signs — $150' remains the only sign-specific line item in the 'Zoning review: Signs and building permits' table — no monument or projecting sign line exists anywhere in that table. The enabling ordinance for the fee schedule (City Code § 3.16.010) was also fetched in full and simply defers to 'the city's consolidated fee schedule, as amended' without itemizing sign sub-types itself, and the full text of City Code § 19.82.140.D (Fees) likewise only states fees 'shall be as specified in the city's consolidated fee schedule' with no further sign-type breakdown. A separate, valuation-based general Building Permit Fee (City Code Title 15, 100% of the IBC building valuation data table) also applies to any sign requiring structural/electrical work, layered on top of whichever zoning-review fee applies. Whether monument and projecting signs are billed under the same $150 'Wall signs' line, a different unpublished amount, or are simply not subject to a distinct zoning-review fee, could not be resolved from any city-published source — this appears to be a genuine gap in the city's own fee schedule rather than a retrieval failure.

Reviewed 2026-07-20 · Source

When you need this permit

  • No person may erect, convert, or display a sign unless the department has issued a permit or the sign is exempted under City Code § 19.82.140.F (City Code § 19.82.140.A)
  • Monument signs are limited to one per street/highway frontage in NC, CR, O-R-D, PF, RO, and MU zones and at religious institutions, sized per Chart 19.82.03-01 (e.g., NC/CR/PF monument: 36 sq ft, 6 ft max height, 18 in. setback; RO monument: 32 sq ft, 4 ft max height, 36 in. setback)
  • Wall signs are limited to an aggregate of 15% of the wall area where displayed, may not project more than 12 inches from the wall, and cabinet signs are not permitted as wall signs (City Code § 19.82.040)
  • Projecting signs require at least 8 feet of sidewalk clearance, may project no more than 4 feet from the building (or one-third the sidewalk width, whichever is less), and must not exceed 18 feet in height or the roofline, whichever is lower (City Code § 19.82.050)
  • Temporary signs (max 20 sq ft, max 6 ft height) may be displayed for no more than 20 days in any 12 consecutive months and require a permit under § 19.82.140 unless otherwise exempted (City Code §§ 19.82.070, 19.82.125)

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Wall Sign — Zoning ReviewCottonwood Heights Fee Schedule, Zoning review: Signs and building permits section, line item Wall signs. Originally confirmed via a Wayback Machine snapshot (2026-07-09) because the city's live page returned HTTP 403 to a direct curl fetch; RE-CONFIRMED 2026-07-20 by fetching the live page through a reader-proxy (which bypasses the 403), verifying this is still the current, non-stale figure. This remains the ONLY sign-specific dollar figure the published fee schedule itemizes anywhere. Also checked: the enabling ordinance (City Code 3.16.010, Consolidated Fee Schedule, which just defers to the schedule as amended without itemizing sign sub-types), and the full text of the sign ordinance's own fee clause (City Code 19.82.140.D, which likewise just cross-references the city's consolidated fee schedule with no further breakdown). No monument-sign or projecting-sign-specific line exists in any of these three sources. This is treated as a genuine gap in the city's own publication, not a retrieval failure — confirm with Community and Economic Development (801-944-7062) whether non-wall sign types are billed at this same $150 rate before budgeting. THIRD re-chase pass 2026-07-20: attempted to pull the FY2026 Budget Book Final (cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/10679/639046075839100000), which often contains a more granular Consolidated Fee Schedule appendix than the summary webpage -- the document returned HTTP 403 to a direct fetch and returned empty content even through the r.jina.ai reader-proxy that successfully bypassed the 403 for the plain HTML fee-schedule page, suggesting the PDF itself is not text-extractable via this route; could not confirm or rule out a more detailed sign fee table inside it. Also searched engine-indexed snippets for 'Cottonwood Heights' + monument/projecting sign fee dollar amounts -- no indexed page or PDF surfaces a figure beyond the $150 Wall signs line already on file. Checked a similarly-named cottonwoodheights.com domain fee document -- it redirects to chparksandrecut.gov, the separate Parks and Recreation Service Area board (a different governmental entity from the city, with its own budget/fee process for parks/rec programs only) -- correctly ruled out as inapplicable to city sign permits. Checked Planning Commission and City Council agendas for any sign-ordinance fee amendment -- found only a 2024 zoning-text edit about monument-sign placement at religious institutions, no fee change. Genuinely appears to be a gap in the city's own publication rather than a retrieval failure; the FY2026 Budget Book PDF is the one remaining unread avenue and would require manual/browser access to fully rule out.
$150.00

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Sign Permit permit actually take in Cottonwood Heights?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

    Tips

    • City Code § 19.82.140.C says the department must review a completed, paid application 'promptly' and grant or deny it 'promptly' — this is the actual governing standard (no specific number of days exists in the ordinance to find), unlike the general building permit's stated 7-business-day first-review target. Do not assume the two timelines match.
    • Cabinet signs are explicitly not permitted as wall signs anywhere in the city (§ 19.82.040), and pole signs, roof signs, portable signs, inflatable signs, and off-premise signs/billboards are prohibited outright (§ 19.82.110).
    • Several sign types are exempt from the permit requirement entirely: signs required by law, signs on coin-operated/vending machines or gas pumps, one real estate sign per property (max 6 ft height, 9 sq ft, no lights or changeable copy), property signs, name-plate signs (max 1 sq ft), and civic signs (§ 19.82.120).
    • A sign permit issued under this chapter requires any nonconforming sign already on the premises to be modified or removed to conform with the current code (§ 19.82.130.D) — check for legacy nonconforming signage before applying.
    • The published fee schedule only itemizes a $150 fee for 'Wall signs' under the Signs and building permits category — re-confirmed live 2026-07-20 (not just via Wayback), and cross-checked against the fee-authorizing ordinance and the sign ordinance's own fee clause, neither of which itemizes monument or projecting signs separately. This looks like a genuine gap in the city's own publication — confirm directly with the city whether monument or projecting signs are billed at the same $150 rate.

    Frequently asked questions

    Yes, for most signs. City Code § 19.82.140 requires a permit to erect, convert, or display a sign unless it falls under a specific exemption — signs required by law, one real estate sign per property, property signs, name-plate signs, civic signs, and signs on coin-operated machines or gas pumps are exempt (§ 19.82.120).

    The city's Fee Schedule lists a $150.00 zoning review fee for wall signs under 'Signs and building permits.' Re-confirmed live 2026-07-20: this remains the only sign-specific line item in the schedule anywhere — it does not separately itemize monument or projecting sign fees. Confirm the applicable amount with Community and Economic Development at 801-944-7062 before applying for a non-wall sign type.

    Cottonwood Heights does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Cottonwood Heights Community and Economic Development (CED) — Building Permit Division, staffed by a contracted Building Official (James Short, Sunrise Engineering) at 801-944-7062 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Sign Permit Application; Scaled Color Drawing; Construction/Illumination Specifications. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through Cottonwood Heights Community and Economic Development (CED) — Building Permit Division, staffed by a contracted Building Official (James Short, Sunrise Engineering) at 2277 E Bengal Blvd, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121. Phone: 801-944-7062. Office hours: City Hall regular business hours (specific daily hours not published on the Building Permits or Codes and Standards pages as of the dates verified below); contact 801-944-7060 (codes/standards) or 801-944-7062 (permits) to confirm.. Official information: https://www.cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/city-services/building-permits/.

    Cottonwood Heights, Utah has adopted: 2024 International Building Code (IBC), including Appendices C and J — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(a), superseding the 2021 IBC. Cottonwood Heights' own Building Codes and Standards page, live-checked 2026-07-16, still lists '2021 International Building Code' verbatim — the city's page has NOT been updated to reflect the 7/1/2026 statewide flip. The statute controls regardless of the city page's lag.; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — REMAINS CURRENT; Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(b) did NOT change this edition in the 7/1/2026 amendment. Matches the city's Building Codes and Standards page (live-checked 2026-07-16: '2021 International Residential Code').; Appendix AQ of the 2021 IRC — statewide per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(c); not separately itemized on the city's own Building Codes and Standards page, added here per statute.; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(e), superseding the 2021 IMC. The city's Building Codes and Standards page still lists '2021 International Mechanical Code' — live-checked 2026-07-16, confirming lag. The statute controls.; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(f), superseding the 2021 IFGC. The city's Building Codes and Standards page still lists '2021 International Fuel Gas Code' — live-checked 2026-07-16, confirming lag. The statute controls.; 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC) — CURRENT statewide as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(d), superseding the 2021 IPC. The city's Building Codes and Standards page still lists '2021 International Plumbing Code' — live-checked 2026-07-16, confirming lag. The statute controls.; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) — statewide-mandatory edition per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(g); UNCHANGED by the 7/1/2026 amendment (the 2023 NEC baseline predates this code cycle). The city's Building Codes and Standards page lists '2020 National Electric Code' — one edition behind the statewide-mandatory floor, confirmed still unchanged via live-check 2026-07-16. Per Utah Code § 15A-1-204 (statewide-mandatory construction code), the 2023 NEC governs regardless of the city's own page.; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), single unsplit statewide edition — CURRENT as of 7/1/2026 per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(h) (no residential/commercial split under current law), superseding the 2018 IECC. The city's Building Codes and Standards page still lists '2018 international energy conservation code' — live-checked 2026-07-16, confirming lag (this was already one edition behind the pre-7/1/2026 2021 IECC baseline other Salt Lake County cities used, and is now two editions behind current). The statute controls.; 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — statewide per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(i); not listed on the city's own Building Codes and Standards page (live-checked 2026-07-16), added here per statute since the city's own materials omit it entirely.; Residential provisions of the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) — statewide per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(n); not listed on the city's own Building Codes and Standards page (live-checked 2026-07-16), added here per statute since the city's own materials omit it entirely.; Modular Building Institute (MBI) Standards 1200 and 1205 — statewide per Utah Code § 15A-2-103(1)(o); not listed on the city's own Building Codes and Standards page, added here per statute.; 2018 International Fire Code (IFC), with Utah state amendments — per the city's official Building Codes and Standards page (live-checked 2026-07-16, unchanged). NOTE: the IFC is NOT among the codes adopted by Utah Code § 15A-2-103 (Title 15A Chapter 2, State Construction Code) — Utah's Fire Code is separately adopted under Title 15A Chapter 5, State Fire Code Act; left as published by the city, no statutory edition change applies via § 15A-2-103.; 2017 ANSI ICC A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities (referenced on the codes page as '2017 ANSI ADA CODE') — per the city's official Building Codes and Standards page, live-checked 2026-07-16, unchanged.; 2009 ANSI A117.1 Standard for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities — also separately listed on the same official codes page (both 2017 and 2009 editions appear on the city's current list; reproduced verbatim rather than reconciled, since only the city's own text is authoritative here). Live-checked 2026-07-16, unchanged.; 2015 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings — per the city's official Building Codes and Standards page, live-checked 2026-07-16, unchanged.; Cottonwood Heights Code of Ordinances (local amendments to the above, referenced but not separately itemized on the Codes and Standards page) — see localAmendments below.; NOTE (2026-07-16 re-verification): Utah Code § 15A-2-103, version effective 7/1/2026 (superseded 1/1/2027), took effect 15 days before this re-verification. IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/IEBC/residential ISPSC are now 2024 statewide; IRC (2021) and NEC (2023) did NOT change. The city's Building Codes and Standards page (cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/city-services/building/codes-and-standards) was live-checked 2026-07-16 via real-browser navigation and confirmed still lagging — it verbatim lists 2021 IBC/IMC/IFGC/IPC/IRC, 2020 National Electric Code, and 2018 IECC, and omits IEBC and ISPSC entirely. The statewide statute controls over the city's un-updated page; the prior version of this array presented the city's stale figures as simply 'the city's own page controls' without flagging that the statute itself had moved past them — this entry corrects that.. Local amendments apply — see the Cottonwood Heights overview page for the full list.

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