Downtown Area Banner Program Guidelines
The City of St. Louis has designated Greater St. Louis, Inc. as the authority for determining the use and design of banners on street light standards located in the Downtown Area (the “Banner Program”). The Downtown Area is bounded by the Mississippi River to the east, Chouteau Avenue to the south, Jefferson Avenue to the west, and Cole Street to the north.
Purpose
The purpose of the Banner Program is to enrich the aesthetic experience of the Downtown Area through added color and improvement of the Downtown streetscape, while also providing an opportunity for banner sponsors to promote important facets of the Downtown experience.
Standards
To advance the Banner Program, Greater St. Louis, Inc. prioritizes applications for renewal placements, non-profit entity placements, and placements which promote: events, institutions or places of community importance (including athletic events); significant St. Louis anniversaries, milestones, or achievements of particular merit; and renovation, development and redevelopment projects.
1. General Requirements
- Banners shall be designed to improve the aesthetic appearance of the Downtown Area.
- Banners shall be scheduled for installation only upon execution of a contract between Greater St. Louis, Inc. and the sponsoring organization and with full payment by the sponsor in advance.
- Banners are the property of the sponsor and must be claimed by the sponsor within 48 hours of deinstallation.
- Banners are temporary signs under the City’s Comprehensive Sign Code, shall not be displayed longer than 12 months (subject to renewal), and shall not be displayed less than 1 month, except for convention groups or other similar events, which may sponsor banners for any number of days up to a maximum of 1 month prior to and during the convention.
2. Production Requirements
- Banner’s shall be 30 inches wide by 84 inches tall, unless otherwise specified by Greater St. Louis, Inc.
- Banners are to be produced so that grommets are placed on the inside of the design closest to the streetlight standard.
- Banners are required to have five (5) wind slits to ease air pressure.
3. Placement Requirements
- Applications for banners shall be sufficient to fulfill all light standards within a minimum of one block (generally defined as the area on one side of a given street between one intersection and the next).
- Two banners shall be installed on each light standard with images on both sides of each banner.
- Banners shall be placed only on steel light standards.
- Banners shall maintain a bottom clearance above the street of not less than 14 feet, 6 inches and a bottom clearance above the sidewalk of not less than 7 feet.
- Banners generally shall not be affixed to historic replica or decorative light standards.
- Banner locations for non-profit or for-profit business shall be limited to placement within the same block as the business.
- Banners shall not be installed on either side of the street on the same block(s) as a for-profit competitor of a banner sponsor.
- Banners shall not be attached to, strung between, or supported by any other device, object or additional lighting standard.
4. Content Requirements
- Banners shall employ good, simple graphic design appropriate for largescale, outdoor use.
- At least two-thirds of banner space shall be devoted to an attractive graphic art design and no more than one-third of banner space may include typographic messaging – including the sponsor’s name.
- Banners shall not advertise or promote merchandise, products or services, and shall be as non-commercial as possible.
- Banner sponsor names may appear on banners in typeface size smaller than the predominant typeface on the banner, and in no event larger than 6 inches in height.
- Phone numbers and email addresses are prohibited.
- For-profit requirements:
- Banners shall not display company taglines, mottos, buzzwords, trademarks, servicemarks, copyrights or similar verbiage and intellectual property.
- Banners generally shall not display photographic images of a business.
- Descriptions or images of a product or service are prohibited.
- In addition to any other requirement articulated herein, banners shall not incorporate: third-party copyrighted, trademarked or other protected intellectual property; political content of any kind; obscenity; violent imagery, calls to violence or to criminal activity of any kind; any other content inconsistent with community standards for decency.
- Greater St. Louis, Inc. must review and approve, in its sole discretion, banner design prior to contract execution and installation.
Fees
Greater St. Louis, Inc. charges a fixed $50 fee per light standard (two banners per light standard), which fee includes both installation and removal services. In addition, Greater St. Louis, Inc. charges a $20 maintenance charge per light standard per month (one month minimum). Maintenance charges for banners in place on April 1, 2021 will be assessed at the grandfathered rate of $14 per light standard per month through December 31, 2022.
In the event banners are to be erected on light standards without brackets, or that brackets require replacement, Greater. St. Louis, Inc. charges a fixed $100 fee per light standard, in addition to the costs set forth in the preceding paragraph for banner installation and maintenance. All brackets become the property of Greater St. Louis, Inc. upon installation and will remain on the light standard for future use after the sponsor banners are removed.
All fees must be paid in full at execution of the banner agreement and prior to banner installation.
Pricing is subject to change.
Disclaimer
The costs of banner design, production, installation and maintenance shall be borne entirely by the sponsor. Greater St. Louis, Inc. recommends that sponsors contract with experienced vendors knowledgeable of the design and production requirements for Downtown Area banner placements. As articulated above, Greater St. Louis, Inc. shall contract with its vendor for the installation and removal of the banners provided by the sponsor.
Banners may be replaced temporarily by Greater St. Louis, Inc. in the sole discretion and at the sole cost of Greater St. Louis, Inc. At the termination of any period of temporary placement, Greater St. Louis, Inc. shall reinstall sponsor banners and the sponsor’s placement period shall be extended by the amount of time sponsor’s banner was temporarily replaced.
Greater St. Louis, Inc. is not responsible for the disappearance of or damage to banners from any cause, including but not limited to: wind, weather, theft, vandalism or fire. It is recommended that sponsor order 10% more banners than will be erected for use as replacements in the event of damage or disappearance.
Effective June 24, 2022
For more information regarding this program or for an application, please call Eva France at (314) 444-1172 or email at Eva@GreaterSTLinc.com.