Sign Code Design Standards

1. Overview

Regardless of whether or not a sign requires a permit, signs must comply with all associated regulations. Compliance shall be determined based on Florida Building Code, City Code, and Miami 21 Zoning Code including:

• Size and area (Aggregate Area Calculation)
• Location standards
• Sign placement
• Illumination regulations

You can view detailed information on the sign design standards by accessing Table 15 of the Miami 21 Zoning Code. Table 15 is located in Section 10.2 and illustrates in detail the sign design standards by sign types allowed within specific Transect Zones for signs requiring a permit. 

You can use the Zoning Interactive Tool to find out which Transect Zone your establishment is located in. 

Design Standards by Zone

2. Signs That Do Not Require a Permit

Signs must comply with size and location requirements as set forth in the Miami 21 Zoning Code for the Transect Zone in which they are located. 

• Address/Notice/Directional/Warning
• Home Office
• Flags (limited to 1 per property; National/State flags limited to 3 per property)
• Celebratory Flags/Banners (must be removed within 30 days of the vent)
• Cornerstones/Memorials/Tablets
• US Mail Delivery Receptacles
• Vehicle Signs
• Changeable Copy Signs (Manual and Electronically Activated)

3. Sign Placement 

• All signs, excluding monuments placed between the average sidewalk elevation and fifty (50) feet above the sidewalk shall be subject to Table 15 Sign Design Standards.
• Signs above 50 feet shall comply with Section 10.3.6 of the Miami 21 Zoning Code.
• All monument signs shall be placed along the principal frontage within the base building line of the establishment.
• No establishment should have more than two (2) monument signs.
• Signs should not exceed a tenant’s occupied establishment. 
• Monument signs should not be located within the public right-of-way unless allowed by the City’s Public Works Department. 

4. Sign Area 

The sign area includes a regular geometric shape, or combination of regular geometric shapes which form or approximate the perimeter of all elements in the display surface. The total sign area allowed can be determined by using the aggregate area calculation formula. 
Aggregate Area = (total linear frontage) X (Aggregate area ration) 

Monument Sign Area 

• Monument signs may include up to two (2) display surfaces. 
• The base of the sign structure is not considered into the display surface calculation.

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5. Illumination Regulations 

• Sign luminance levels cannot exceed the maximum of 0.3 foot candles above ambient light. 
• Illuminated signs are not permitted within one hundred (100) feet of a residential frontage (T3, T4, T5-R, T6-R) unless permitted by Warrant.
• Animation is prohibited.