Cal. Code Regs. tit. 21, § 2110 – Business Signs.

(a) General requirements and responsibilities:
1. (1) Business Signs are to be fabricated by the applicant in accordance with all specifications set forth in these regulations required by the Department and are to be affixed to Special Informational Panels and Supplemental Directional Panels by the Department.
2. (2) All Business Signs will be delivered to the location designated by the Department at no cost to the Department. A Business Sign which does not conform to the Department's specifications, or which would mislead or which has pictorials, words, symbols, logos and/or trademarks that the Department determines to be offensive to good taste or decency or which would misinform the traveling public or which is unsightly, badly faded or in a state of disrepair, shall not be displayed.
3. (3) The Department may require an applicant to file written assurances that adequate Supplemental Directional Signs and/or Trailblazers shall be installed and maintained.
4. (4) Where business operations are seasonal, the Department shall remove or cover the Business Sign for each specific location and shall charge the appropriate fee for this service, as provided in the business sign permit.
5. (5) The Business Sign of a Qualified Motorist Service Business shall be installed only at the interchange which provides the most direct access to the business premises.
(b) Installation and maintenance. The Department shall be solely responsible at its discretion for furnishing, installing, and maintaining all Specific Informational Panels and Supplemental Directional Panels.
Each Qualified Motorist Service Business upon notification of approval of its application shall arrange to have its individual Business Sign fabricated.
The Department shall be solely responsible for the installation and removal of all Business Signs fastened to Motorist Services Informational Panels. Under no circumstances will anyone other than employees of the Department or the Department's contractors and agents be permitted to enter within the highway right-of-way for the installation, maintenance, or removal of any panel or sign.
The Department shall not be responsible for lost, stolen, defaced, deteriorated, damaged, or destroyed business signs regardless of the cause. The applicant shall be responsible for delivering to the location designated by the Department a replacement or renovated sign to the Department to replace any sign which is lost, stolen, defaced, damaged, or destroyed or which is in a deteriorated condition.
(c) Specifications. Each Business Sign placed on a Specific Informational Panel shall be 48 inches wide by 36 inches high. Each Business Sign placed on a Supplemental Directional Panel shall be 18 inches wide by 12 inches high. It is required that a single aluminum sheet of 0.050 inches, or thicker, be used for each business sign.
It is intended that when symbols, logos, or trademarks are used, they cover as much of the rectangular area as possible, consistent with their design.
The messages, background, and borders on all Business Signs shall be fully reflectorized. The signs for a Specific Informational Panel shall have a three-quarter ( ¾ ) inch white border and the signs for a Supplemental Directional Panel shall have a three-eights ( ⅜ ) inch white border, except that when commercial symbols, logos, or trademarks are used, the border may be omitted. They shall have only the full business name shown on the business license and the application/permit as a white, reflectorized message on a blue background except that business signs composed of nationally, regionally, or locally known commercial symbols, logos, or trademarks shall be used when applicable. If a commercial symbol, logo, or trademark is available and it does not contain any word, symbol, or trademark which the Department determines to be offensive to good taste and decency or misinformative to the traveling public, it shall be used in preference to any other form of business identification and shall be reproduced with the colors, general shape, and design consistent with customary use and with any On-Site Signs. Any integral legend shall be proportional to the size customarily used on a said symbol, logo, or trademark. Regardless of whether a symbol, logo, or trademark or the name of the business is used, the display shall be centered both vertically and horizontally on the Business Sign.
The principal legend on all Business Signs should be at least 10 inches in height on signs to be fastened on the Specific Informational Panels and at least four (4) inches in height on signs to be fastened on the Supplemental Directional Panels.
(d) Arrangement of Business Signs on Specific Informational Panels. Business Signs for “FUEL”, “FOOD”, “LODGING”, and “CAMPING” shall be arranged according to Section 2106(m).
Not more than six Business Signs shall be placed on one Specific Informational Panel with not more than three Business Signs in each horizontal row.
(e) Arrangement of Business Signs on Supplemental Directional Panels. Not more than six Business Signs for “FUEL”, “FOOD”, “LODGING”, and “CAMPING” shall be placed on one Supplemental Directional Panel in not more than two horizontal rows. The upper row may contain the signs of those businesses which may be reached by a left turn, or by proceeding in a direction other than a right turn, and the lower row may contain the sign of those businesses which may be reached by a right turn, or by proceeding in a direction other than a left turn. Within each row, the Business Signs shall be arranged from left to right in order of increasing State Measured Distance.
(f) Where Business Sign permit applications have not been received from a sufficient number of qualified businesses, or where there are not sufficient qualified businesses to warrant separate Specific Informational Panels, Business Signs for combinations of motorist services may be displayed on any one panel. However, not more than two service groups shall be combined on any one panel and not more than three Business Signs for each of the service groups shall be displayed on the panel.
(g) Prohibitions. Any messages, logos, symbols, or trademarks on a Business Sign which interfere with, imitate, or resemble any official warning or regulatory sign, signal, or traffic control device or attempt or appear to attempt to direct the movement of traffic, are prohibited. Any Business Sign which includes pictorials, words, symbols, logos, and/or trademarks that are used to offer or represent other service(s) being provided in the same establishment, other than a Qualified Motorist Service, is prohibited. Any Business Sign which serves to advertise rather than identify a Qualified Motorist Service Business is prohibited; except that as to “FUEL” Business Signs, a permittee may include the word “Diesel” or a Department-approved symbol for diesel, or the letters “LPG” for liquid propane fuel, or any other word or symbol that has been approved by the Department which represent a type of fuel on the business sign as specifically provided in the permit.

Note: Authority cited: Section 101.7, Streets and Highways Code. Reference: Section 101.7, Streets and Highways Code.

History

1. New section filed 5-18-93; operative 6-17-93 (Register 93, No. 21).