If you manage a multi-tenant property on the Monterey Peninsula, your signage is either working together or working against you. Commercial property sign guidelines — sometimes called a master sign program — are the document that determines which one it is. Think of it as the rulebook for every sign on your property: what tenants can install, where it goes, how big it can be, and what it looks like.

We have spent 30-plus years creating these programs and building signs within them. Here is what property owners and managers actually need to know.

What a Sign Program Covers

A sign program is a single document that governs all signage across your property. It typically addresses:

  • Allowed sign types — wall signs, blade signs, window graphics, awning signs, monument listings
  • Size and placement — maximum dimensions for each sign type, mounting heights, setbacks from property lines
  • Materials and colors — approved finishes, prohibited materials (like certain plastics that weather poorly near the coast), color palettes that coordinate with the building
  • Lighting standards — whether illumination is permitted, what kind (external wash, halo-lit, channel letters), and brightness limits
  • Monument and directory signs — how tenant names appear on shared signs, panel sizes, font standards
  • What is not allowed — pole signs, banners used as permanent signage, LED message boards, anything that conflicts with local code
  • Tenant review process — how a new tenant submits a sign design for approval before fabrication begins

The goal is not to restrict tenants. It is to give every business a clear framework so their sign fits the property and passes the city’s review the first time.

Who Needs One

In many California jurisdictions, a sign program is required for any commercial development with three or more tenants. But even properties that are not legally required to have one benefit from the structure.

Shopping centers and strip malls are the most obvious candidates. Without a sign program, you end up with one tenant installing a brushed aluminum channel letter sign, another hanging a vinyl banner, and a third mounting a backlit plastic box. The property looks disorganized, and every new tenant permit becomes a negotiation.

Office parks and mixed-use developments need them for the same reason. When professional tenants share a building, inconsistent signage signals poor management — and that affects lease rates. Research from the International Council of Shopping Centers has found that properties with enforced sign standards tend to command higher rents and lower vacancy rates than those without.

Hospitality properties — resorts, hotel complexes, conference venues — use internal sign standards that function the same way, even if they never file them with a planning department. On the Monterey Peninsula, properties around Pebble Beach and along the Monterey waterfront take this approach seriously.

How Sign Guidelines Simplify Permitting

Here is where a sign program pays for itself. Without one, every new tenant sign is reviewed from scratch — the city evaluates the design, the materials, the size, the placement, and whether it fits the neighborhood. In jurisdictions with design review boards, that process can take weeks.

With an approved sign program on file, the city has already agreed to the framework. When a new tenant submits a sign permit, the planning department checks it against the pre-approved criteria. If the sign fits the program, it moves through faster, with fewer rounds of revision and lower permitting costs.

On the Monterey Peninsula, this advantage is significant. Carmel‘s design review process is arguably the most rigorous in California — every sign application goes before the Planning Commission. Pacific Grove applies similar scrutiny along Lighthouse Avenue and in the downtown core. A pre-approved sign program does not eliminate review, but it gives the city confidence that the property has a plan and that individual signs will be consistent with it.

Common Mistakes That Undermine a Sign Program

After three decades of working with multi-tenant properties, we have seen every version of what can go wrong.

Too restrictive. A program that limits every tenant to the same font, same size, and same color creates a property that looks institutional. Tenants cannot differentiate their storefronts, customers cannot find them, and the shopping center feels like a directory board stretched across a building. Good sign guidelines set boundaries while leaving room for each business to express its brand.

Too permissive. A program that allows everything except the most extreme violations is barely a program at all. If the only rule is “no neon,” you still end up with visual chaos. The best programs define a range — approved materials, a color palette, maximum dimensions — and let tenants work creatively within those limits.

Outdated. A sign program written fifteen years ago probably does not address LED illumination, digital displays, or current ADA requirements. If your program still references “neon tube lighting” as a prohibited sign type but says nothing about LED brightness levels, it is time for an update. We recommend reviewing your program every five to ten years.

Unenforced. This is the most common failure. The property has a solid sign program in a binder somewhere. But when a tenant installs a sign that does not comply, nobody says anything. Within a few years, the program is effectively dead. A sign program only works if the property manager uses it.

Sign Guidelines on the Monterey Peninsula

The Peninsula’s visual standards make sign programs especially relevant here. This community cares about aesthetics in a way that most markets do not — and the local jurisdictions reflect that.

Carmel-by-the-Sea does not use the term “master sign program,” but its sign ordinance essentially functions as a city-wide one. No internally illuminated signs. Strict size limits. Every application goes through design review. If you operate a multi-tenant property in Carmel, understanding how sign programs work helps you understand why the review process is so detailed — and how to work within it efficiently. We wrote a detailed guide to Carmel’s sign ordinance that breaks down exactly what the design review process evaluates.

Pacific Grove applies design review standards along its commercial corridors that function much like a property-level sign program, particularly in the downtown district.

Coastal Commission oversight adds another layer. Properties within the Coastal Zone may need Coastal Commission approval of their sign program in addition to local review. This extends the timeline, but many Peninsula property owners see it as an added layer of protection for the visual character they have invested in.

We have developed full sign programs for multi-tenant properties throughout Carmel and fabricated every tenant sign within them for years afterward — the consistency is what makes the investment pay off.

Creating or Updating Your Property’s Sign Program

Whether you are developing a new multi-tenant property or inheriting one with outdated (or nonexistent) sign guidelines, the process follows a similar path.

It starts with understanding what the local sign code requires and what the property’s architecture supports. From there, the program defines sign types, dimensions, materials, and placement — specific enough to maintain consistency, flexible enough to let tenants stand out. The finished document becomes part of your lease agreements and your permit record with the city.

If your property already has a sign program that has not been reviewed in several years, it is worth revisiting. Tenant mixes change. Sign technologies evolve. Code requirements get updated. A program that worked well in 2012 may have gaps today — particularly around illumination standards and ADA compliance. Our ADA signage guide covers the accessibility requirements that every sign program should address.

If you manage a commercial property on the Monterey Peninsula and want to talk through what a sign program could look like for your situation, we are always happy to walk through the options. It is one of the things we do best.