Specific Service (Business) Signs FAQs

The Specific Service Sign is a rectangular sign that displays a business or organization name and directional arrow. The text color is white and the background panel color is blue. The sign is placed within the county road right-of-way.

Eligible businesses or organizations include restaurants, tourist-oriented businesses, garden/greenhouse centers, gasoline stations, motels/hotels, resorts, privately owned recreational camping areas and places of worship. Specific Service Signs are typically limited to placement in advance of an intersection of the road that accesses the business or organization. Specific Service Signs are typically not placed in advance of a driveway serving the business or organization if it has roadway frontage exposure.

Privately owned signs shall not be placed within the county road right-of-way. St. Louis County Ordinance 62, Section 6.12, requires that privately owned signs shall be placed a minimum of 10 feet from the outside edge of the county road right-of-way.

The cost of a Specific Service Sign is $600.00 per sign assembly. A sign assembly consists of one sign panel and required sign supports, and includes design, fabrication and installation by St. Louis County. Each sign assembly shall face one direction of traffic only and be placed on the right-hand side of the road as viewed by a driver. Sign assemblies cannot be doubled up (sign panels placed back-to-back facing opposite directions). The cost remains the same even for those new sign panels that are placed on the same sign support structure as other Specific Service Signs.

The expected service life of a Specific Service Sign is 10 years. If a sign must be modified or replaced prior to the completion of the 10 year service life, St. Louis County will prorate the cost of the new sign based upon how much of the 10 year service life has lapsed. For example, if a sign must be replaced after it has been in place for 6 years (60% of its service life), the replacement cost will be determined as the cost of a new sign at the time of replacement (e.g. $600.00) subtract the value of the remaining service life of the old sign at the time of replacement (e.g. $600.00 - 60% = $240.00) equals $360.00 ($600.00 - $240.00).

St. Louis County will replace Specific Service Sign(s) at the cost of St. Louis County if damaged by equipment or vehicles owned by St. Louis County. For sign(s) that are damaged or vandalized by occurrences beyond the control of St. Louis County, the sign owner will pay for the cost of repair or replacement if the sign owner desires that the sign be repaired or replaced. If the sign owner does not want to repair or replace their sign(s), St. Louis County will remove the sign(s) at the cost of St. Louis County. St. Louis County will provide the sign(s) to the owner if requested.