Order allows businesses to add four additional signs advertising modifiedoperations

County Board of Commissioners Chairman LauraSemanson has signed a temporary Additional Signage Allowance order providing restaurantsand retail establishments the opportunity to place additional signage advertisingtheir modified business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order authorizes businesses to placeadditional signage for emergency purposes, such as:

-        Whetherthey are open for business and any modified hours of operation

-       Publicsafety protocols

-       Alternativeavenues for conducting business such as curb-side service or online business

-       Enhancedor alternative price lists

-       Otherforms of communication that are required due to the evolving nature of thebusiness environment during the local State of Emergency 

“We understand that some in our businesscommunity could use additional ways to communicate with their customers,” said Semanson.“The purpose of the order is to assist these local businesses and restaurantsduring a time of national crisis.”

In addition to any signage currentlyauthorized by the Forsyth County Sign Code on a lot, two additional expressionsigns, as defined Section 66-105 of the County’s sign code, and two additionalsign devices that are allowed for up to 10 days, as defined in Section 66-103,may be installed on the lot. No permit is required to erect this additionalsignage. Searchlights are excluded from this allowance.

Expression signs can generally be up to 10 feet tall and have a signface of 32 square feet. Thisadditional allowance does not allow these signs to be placed in the right ofway.

Sign devices are defined as the following:

-       Air or gas-filled balloons or other deviceswhich have a capacity for air or gas which exceeds three cubic feet

-       Streamers or two pennants

-       Banners with a maximum size of 32 square feet

The additional signage may be placedimmediately and must be removed by the business upon the expiration of theCounty’s declared State of Emergency, which is scheduled for April 17, unlessextended.