Hundreds of illegal A-frame and pole banner signs doting Manteca’s streets will be legal by the first week of January providing merchants secure city permits and provide insurance coverage.

The same goes for human signs.

The Manteca City Council approved changes to the sign ordinance this week that makes A-frames, pole banners, and human signs legal under certain circumstances.

At the same time council instructed staff to revisit fees for some signs to make sure they were not costing as much - or more - than the signs being regulated.

Businesses are being allowed one A-frame sign per location. The new changes also allow one flag banner per 50 linear feet of business frontage.

The ordinance allows banner flags which are defined as portable signs - in the holes drilled for the Flags over Manteca effort. However, all portable signs shall be set back one foot from the curb. At the same time, banner flags must allow four feet of clear passage on city sidewalks.

Portable signs also cannot be placed to obstruct access to the sidewalk from parked cars.

Human signs will soon be legal but it will be illegal for human signs to be within 100 feet of controlled intersections.

New rules limit a business to one human sign at any given time. They would not have to stay in front of the business, though.