Sign Company in Boerne, TX

Designing signs that fit Boerne's Hill Country standards

Boerne is the county seat of Kendall County, and it grew from 10,471 people in 2010 to 17,850 in the 2020 census. The city manages that growth with detailed design rules. Signs fall under Chapter 9 of the Boerne Unified Development Code, and those rules shape color, lighting, and materials as much as size.

Color comes first. Under the sign lighting rules, backgrounds must be darker than the letters and logos. White and shades of white, such as eggshell or cream, can cover no more than 20 percent of a sign face. Lit cabinet signs need an opaque background with translucent letters, or a colored background with lighter letters. Sign panels need a non-reflective finish.

Materials matter too. The cladding, base, and other parts of a freestanding sign must match materials used elsewhere on the site, such as walls, fences, or the building facade. Caps are required on monument and freeway pylon signs. Any wood on a freestanding sign must be hardwood or treated exterior lumber that is stained or sealed.

Lighting has a schedule. Lit signs visible from the street must be turned off by closing time or 10 p.m., whichever is later. Halo-lit signs are allowed only in certain overlay districts. The code also includes a separate appendix of dark sky lighting rules.

We design every Boerne sign around these rules from the first mockup. Dark backgrounds, bases that echo your building, and shielded lighting are our starting point, so the design is ready for review.

What can you build on Main Street and the Hill Country Mile?

Downtown Boerne has its own sign rules. The Hill Country Mile is a 1.1 "Texas" mile stretch of historic buildings in the downtown historic district. The Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association named it a Great Street in Texas in 2019. Signs here must fit that character.

In the Historic District, the code bans freeway pylon signs, detached canopy signs, and portable message boards. Pole signs are banned unless they already exist. Digital and electronic changeable copy faces are not allowed. Channel letter faces and neon can be approved only if the owner shows they are original to the site or its period.

The city's Historic District Design Guidelines, which the Historic Landmark Commission uses to review projects, go further. They allow no more than four colors, call for earth tones, and allow no more than two typefaces. They recommend painted wood and metal with a matte finish, and they rule out plastics and reflective materials. Signs should not be lit from within. Back lighting is discouraged, though it may be allowed if only the letters are lit. Projecting and hanging signs need at least 7 feet of clearance underneath.

Awnings and canopies play a real role downtown. For nonresidential buildings in the Historic District, the code calls for primary entrances to be covered by a recessed entry, awning, canopy, marquee sign, or balcony. We build commercial awnings and canopies in-house. We also build metal letter signs and externally lit panels suited to historic facades.

Freeway pylon signs on the IH-10 Scenic Interstate Corridor

Along IH-10, Boerne protects its Hill Country views with the Scenic Interstate Corridor overlay. It covers property within 500 feet of the IH-10 right of way. The code describes the goal as preserving the views where IH-10 passes through the Balcones Escarpment and into the Edwards Plateau.

Tall signs are limited to a few places. Freeway pylon signs are allowed only at the IH-10 interchanges with North Main Street, Johns Road, West Bandera Road and SH 46, South Main Street, and Scenic Loop. Only one freeway pylon is allowed on each side of those interchanges. Pole signs and bulletin board cabinet signs are prohibited in the overlay. Freestanding signs along the IH-10 frontage must be at least 200 feet apart.

The general sign chapter allows freeway pylons up to 40 feet and 400 square feet, with a 15-foot setback and no external lighting. The overlay splits the corridor into high, medium, and low elevation areas, and sign height is more restricted on higher ground. It also adds design rules. A pylon must stand perpendicular to the street and complement the buildings on the site. It needs a decorative cap and base, which count toward its height. The base needs 2 square feet of landscaping for every square foot of sign area. A pylon for more than one tenant must show the building address.

We confirm your subarea and interchange before design. Then we build a pylon that meets the height and design rules for that exact spot.

Boerne sign permits, overlays, and review boards

Signs in Boerne and its extraterritorial jurisdiction fall under Chapter 9 of the Unified Development Code. Where a site is in an overlay district, the overlay's sign standards override the general ones. Permits run through the Permitting and Code Compliance office at 447 N. Main Street.

The city requires contractors to register with it before they can work in the city limits or submit permit applications. Registration is done through the city's online permit portal. The property owner is responsible for permitting signs on the property, unless a tenant is named in writing as the responsible party.

Several boards may review a sign. In the Historic District, the permit request goes to Permitting and Code Compliance, and the Planning office takes it to the Historic Landmark Commission for approval. Digital signs and electronic changeable copy signs must first be approved by the Design Review Committee. A building-mounted sign that extends into a TxDOT right of way needs a TxDOT encroachment permit before the city application.

The entrance corridors carry their own limits. They cover property within 300 feet of Main Street, US 87 Business, SH 46, Johns Road, Scenic Loop Road, Amman Road, and Sisterdale Road. Pole signs and freeway pylon signs are prohibited there, unless another overlay applies. In the Heritage Corridor overlay, internally lit channel letter faces and pole signs are prohibited.

We check the base rules and any overlay for your address before design. Then we prepare the permit package and follow it through each review. The city and its boards make the final decisions.

What are your options for a monument sign or an older sign?

For most Boerne businesses, a monument sign is the main freestanding option. Under Chapter 9, a monument sign can be up to 8 feet tall with 30 square feet of sign area. A multi-tenant monument can use 4 square feet per tenant, up to 40 square feet. It needs a base at least 18 inches tall, an enclosure on at least two sides, and an 8-foot setback. A smaller decorative post and panel sign can be 10 feet tall and 24 square feet.

Frontage sets the count. A property gets one freestanding sign for every 400 feet of frontage, and one if it has less. Freestanding signs on the same site must be 200 feet apart. Plants under the sign must stay lower than the sign face.

Older signs can often be kept. Changing a sign face for maintenance does not need a sign permit. Existing poles can be reused for a pole sign if they are undamaged, have not been moved, meet the current chapter, and are allowed in that zoning or overlay district. Owners must keep signs painted, clean, and free of corrosion, and must remove unused hardware and wiring visible from the street.

At the site survey, we look at the structure, the wiring, and the finish. If the sign can be saved, we build new faces or lighting parts in our Houston shop and install them on site. If it cannot, your mockup shows a new monument with a base that matches your building and a dark, non-reflective face that follows Boerne's rules.