Main Street Banner Policies 

The City of Aspen provides space for banners across Main Street with the intent of advertising events for non-profit organizations.  The City of Aspen Engineering Department will facilitate the hanging of banners across Main Street in accordance with Municipal Code 26.510.030 (B)(3), which states, “any such temporary sign which extends over or onto a public right-of-way shall be erected and maintained in such a manner as to not interfere with or obstruct access, activity, or vision along any such public right-of-way, and shall be subject to the written approval of the City of Aspen.” 

The following criteria and procedures shall apply to all requests for banner placement over Main Street:

•  A Main Street Banner Application and Banner Policy and Procedure form must be obtained from the City of Aspen Engineering Office and completed by the party making the request and returned to the City of Aspen Engineering office no less than thirty (30) days prior to the date requested to hang the banner.
• The exact legend of the banner must be indicated in writing (see specific area on application form or attach separate sheet).  For your benefit, it is found that banners are most visually effective when kept simple; i.e., event, date, organization and logo.
•  No commercial advertising will be allowed, except in cases where a sponsoring entity's name is part of the name of the event. In such cases, the organization promoting the event may not construct the banner such that sponsoring entity's commercial name is the most overwhelming aspect of the banner and the sponsor's name and logo shall be no more than thirty percent (30%) of area of the sign.
• No political advertising on or located in the public right-of-way on public property (even by a non-profit organization) is prohibited per Aspen Municipal Code 26.510.120 (C)(2)(b)(2).

 Banners specifications

• We are transitioning to mesh banners to be the required standard material for all banners
• semi-circular wind holes in banner; only needed if not using mesh material
• metal rivets at all corners, and every 24 inches along the top and bottom of the banner; and
• size will be twelve (12) feet in length and three (3) feet in width.
• For a local banner vendor, please contact the Yellow Pages under “Banners”
• Please note, we cannot hang banners that are incorrect size/material, and are not responsible for for any reimbursement shall this be the case.

 Fees

• Single Sided Banners: A fee of $67 per week, must accompany the application form and be received by the Engineering Departmnet 30 days prior to the date the banner will be hung.  
• Double Sided Banners: A fee of $165 per week

Payments must be made in full  prior to hang dates. All checks should be dropped off at City Hall (427 Rio Grande Place) attention Engineering Department.

All organizations will be charged the same rate, accordingly.  

 Time Restrictions

• One banner, per event, may be hung for a maximum of 14 days or the length of the event, as per Municipal Code 26.510.030 (B)(3)(b).  Banner approvals and placement are not guaranteed and will only be hung upon availability of the Electric Department staff. 
• The length of time that a banner is to be hung is not guaranteed and may be shortened at the discretion of the City.  Based on his/her judgment as to the best interest of the City, the Engineering Department may determine which banners are to be given priority when there are multiple requests for the same time period.   
• Only single-sided spaces are available during the months of January, February, March, June, July, and August.  Double-sided spaces are available the remaining months in the year.  Spaces are reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. 
•   Reservations will be taken each year on the first Monday in November for the upcoming year.  

Drop Off

All banners should be delivered directly to the City Electric Department, located at 219 Puppy Smith Road, by noon the Friday prior to the Monday hang date.  

Any banner not delivered by noon on Friday is subject to an additional $50 charge.

 Pick Up

Banners must be picked up from the Electric Department within three (3) days after the display week(s).  

The City of Aspen assumes no responsibility for banners, and any banners left more than seven (7) days will be repurposed or discarded.

If you have any questions regarding this procedure or policy, please call the City of Aspen Engineering office at 

(970) 920-5080.