Sign Regulations in Lebanon, Tennessee

Sign Plan & Submission Notes for Lebanon

• A sign permit from the planning department is required before any person, corporation, or association may erect, prepare, alter, relocate, or keep any sign or other advertising structure on a lot of record within the city, unless the sign is exempt under the ordinance.
• Application for a sign permit must be made on forms provided by the planning department and must include owner and contractor contact information, proposed use of the sign, location of the building/structure/lot, dimensional sketches for attached signs (including linear building frontage and existing signs), plans demonstrating compliance with the International Building Code for roof signs, and detailed dimensional and site plans for ground signs including setbacks, spacing, and structural components.
• Off‑site ground signs require scaled site plans showing setbacks and spacing plus location plans showing existing off‑site permanent ground signs within 1,000 feet on the same side of the street or interstate in both directions.
• For any electronic message center sign within 250 feet of residentially zoned property, written certification from the sign manufacturer on preset light intensity limits and tamper‑protection, and inclusion of automatic day/night intensity control devices, is required prior to permit issuance.
• Before issuance of a sign permit, a copy of the application requesting the electrical permit for the proposed sign must be submitted with the sign permit application.
• All electrical signs must be UL‑listed and the UL number must be provided as part of the permit application.
• Site plans for ground signs must include notes certifying that foundations and structural components are adequate for local wind load and the adopted International Building Code, and for taller signs (over 24 feet) inspections before foundation pour or pole setting are required; signs 40 feet and over require plans sealed by a registered Tennessee engineer.
• Prior to issuance of a sign permit, the proposed sign location must be physically marked (stake, chalk line, or similar) for inspection.
• Construction of a permitted sign may not proceed until required footing and foundation inspections have been made; final inspections by the Planning Director or designee are required upon installation, and a final electrical inspection may be required.
• If work authorized under a sign permit is not completed within six months after issuance, the permit becomes null and void; the issuance of a permit does not waive any provisions of the chapter.
• After a sign passes inspection, a label bearing the permit number must be affixed to the sign in a readily visible location; absence of such label on any sign within the city is prima facie evidence of failure to meet ordinance requirements.
• Permits issued under this chapter are valid for the life of the approved sign but may be revoked if the sign is later found not in full compliance with the chapter.
• Any modifications to existing pole signs or interstate signs after the effective date of this ordinance must follow the standards in their respective sections, implying permit and review requirements.
• Sign permit fees and penalties (including doubled fees for work without permits or inspections) apply to all non‑exempt signs and are to be calculated per the signage fee schedule and section 14.603.4(k).