Sign programs are required for new commercial, office, and/or mixed-use projects in order to establish ongoing sign requirements and to ensure the signage is complementary and compatible with the development and surrounding neighborhood or commercial district. Sign programs create a coordinated set of standards for signs on properties with multiple buildings or tenants and establish uniform sign design elements such as size, color, materials, lighting, and placement on the property. Applications for new commercial, office and/or mixed-use projects shall include schematic plans for signage sufficient to demonstrate signs will be compatible with the project and surroundings. Conditions of approval may require a subsequent final sign program submittal subject to the approval of the community development director. Modifications to sign programs may be referred to the ARC as determined by the director with final decision being made by the director. Sign programs may supersede sections of these sign regulations (Sections 15.40.460 and 15.40.470). The purpose of sign programs is to provide for project specific designs and sign accommodations that take into account compatible and appropriate signage which can be reviewed concurrently with the review of building designs and site layout. Sign programs are not intended to primarily provide for additional signage than would otherwise be allowed and may not provide for approval of otherwise prohibited sign types. In order to approve a sign program, the community development director shall make findings that the sign program results in signage that is compatible with the development, complementary to project architecture, and coordinated among tenant spaces for consistency and superior design. Prior to submitting a sign permit application to the building division under a sign program, the program must have been approved and all appeal periods must have expired. (Ord. 1667 § 3(2) (Exh. A (part)), 2019)