Banners add variety and festiveness to commercial and arterial streets. They provide information on City-sponsored, City-funded, citywide special events and locations of the City’s diverse neighborhoods. Banners are typically hung from utility poles or street lights.

Process Overview

Typically, banners would be installed by civic organizations, or neighborhood or business organizations. They are not typically installed by individual residents or merchants. DPW’s banner permit grants permission to temporarily install banners on City-owned utility poles.

See DPW’s Banner Permit

See Permit Process for more information

Official Codes & Documents

• Public Works Code requirements
  (Article 5.7, Section 184.78 of the San Francisco Public Works Code)
• Department of Public Works Director’s Order No. 175,208
  (Guidelines for Installing Vertical Banners on City-Owned Utility Poles)

Design Guidelines

Street types: Downtown Commercial, Commercial Throughway, Neighborhood Commercial, Downtown Residential, Residential Throughway, Mixed Use, Parkway, Park Edge, Multi-Way Boulevard, Ceremonial

Sidewalk zones: Edge Zone

See DPW Banner Guidelines for Approval

Maintenance

Community groups sponsoring banner displays on City-owned utility poles are responsible for ensuring they are properly installed and maintained.

To report a maintenance issue with a banner, call or go to 311.

For a more detailed description of maintenance responsibilities, see Maintenance.

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