# Sign Regulations in Alamosa, Colorado

Sign permit rules, size and height limits, setbacks, and ordinance citations for Alamosa, Colorado, compiled by PermitPal from the jurisdiction's published municipal code.

- **Jurisdiction:** Alamosa, Colorado (CO)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/colorado/alamosa
- **Data last verified:** 2025-03-04
- **Source:** [municode municipal code](https://library.municode.com/CO/Alamosa/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH21UNDECO_ARTIVLOBUSTST_DIV4-7SI)

## At a glance

Alamosa, Colorado regulates 9 sign types across 6 zoning districts. Freestanding Permanent Signs in the Residential zoning district are capped at 5 ft./8 ft. tall and 6 sf./20 sf. (Sec. Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a)). Most commercial signs in Alamosa require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (6 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Residential | 3 | 5 ft./8 ft. | 10% of window | Yes |
| Mixed-Use or Nonresidential | 4 | 8 ft. | 70 sf. | Yes |
| EN, RE | 2 | — | 5% of front walls; 100% of all other walls | Yes |
| MU | 2 | — | 10% of front walls; 100% of all other walls | Yes |
| CB, CBD | 2 | — | 35% of sign area | Yes |
| I | 1 | — | 100% of all walls | Yes |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 6 zones)

### Residential

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Temporary Sign | — | 4 sf. | — | — | 1 per building | Per building | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |
| Window Sign | — | 10% of window | — | — | Not limited | # of signs not limited | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |
| Freestanding Permanent Sign | 5 ft./8 ft. | 6 sf./20 sf. | — | — | 1 per frontage | 5 ft. from property lines; 15 ft. from building walls | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |

### Mixed-Use or Nonresidential

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Canopy Sign | — | 50% of vertical surface area of awning or 50% of fascia of canopy | — | — | Not specified | Allowed on valence of awning or on fascia of canopy | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |
| Marquee Sign | — | 70 sf. | — | — | 1 per building | 1 per building, above principal entrance | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |
| Window Sign | — | 40% of window | — | — | Not limited | # of signs not limited | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |
| Freestanding Permanent Sign | 8 ft. | 40 sf. | — | — | 1 per 200 lf. of frontage, plus 1 sign per lot | 1 per 200 lf. of frontage, plus 1 sign per lot | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |

### EN, RE

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign (painted or applied) | — | 5% of front walls; 100% of all other walls | — | — | Not limited | # of signs not limited | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |
| Wall Sign (cabinet or channel letter) | — | 1 sf./lf. of frontage | — | — | Not limited | # of signs not limited | Yes | Sec. 21-4-702, Table 21-4-702(a) |

## Prohibited signs in Alamosa

- No sign shall be displayed, constructed, installed, erected, or altered within the city until the city has issued a sign permit, unless the sign is exempt from this division, partially exempt from this division, or the sign (or modification) qualifies for an exception to the permit requirement.
- Animated or moving parts, including any moving, swinging, rotating, or spinning parts or flashing, blinking, scintillating, fluctuating, or otherwise animated light, except electronic message centers, standard flags, feather flags, banners, temporary holiday displays, and clocks.
- Cardboard, card stock, or paper, except when laminated or used as a window sign.
- Motor vehicles used as signs unless they are operational, regularly used as motor vehicles, with current registration and tags, and the display of signage does not interfere with the immediate operation of the motor vehicle.
- Semi trailers, shipping containers, or portable storage units used as signs unless they are structurally sound, used for their primary purpose, and the display of signage is incidental to the primary purpose.
- Stacked products (e.g., tires, soft drink cases, bagged soil or mulch) used as signs.
- Unshielded bare light bulbs that are larger than C9 format or brighter than fifty (50) lumens per bulb, except neon tubing.
- Materials with a high degree of specular reflectivity, such as polished metal, installed in a manner that creates substantial glare.
- Signs obstructing building ingress or egress, operable windows, equipment related to public safety, building operations, or utility service, or any required vision clearance area.
- Signs posted, installed, mounted on, fastened, or affixed to any tree or shrub, utility pole or light pole (unless specific conditions are met), utility cabinets or pedestals (except with consent), or an exposed, unfinished metal pole over six feet in height.
- Signs located in or over public rights-of-way, within twelve inches from building corners, cornice or eave lines, or ground planes, or within six inches of doors, windows, downspouts, or dimensional architectural details, except under specific conditions.
- Flashing, blinking, or chasing lights.
- Text or graphics of an indecent or immoral nature that is harmful to minors under state or federal law.
- Text or graphics that advertise unlawful transactions.
- Text or graphics that are obscene, fighting words, defamation, incitement to imminent lawless action, or true threats.
- Text or graphics that present a clear and present danger due to their potential confusion with traffic control signs or signs that provide public safety information.

## Signs exempt from permit in Alamosa

- Signs of any type that are installed or posted by governmental entities on property owned or controlled by the governmental entity.
- Decorations that are clearly incidental, customary, and commonly associated with a holiday.
- Signs required by applicable building codes or health and safety regulations, or to comply with other laws or regulations.
- Signs not visible from residential lots, abutting property not under common ownership, or public rights-of-way due to the configuration of the building(s) or structure(s) or the topography of the site.
- Signs not legible from abutting property or rights-of-way due to the configuration of the building(s) or structure(s) or the topography of the subject property or the orientation or setback or typeface of the sign, provided that the sign area is not more than thirty-two square feet.
- Signs applied to or painted on a utility cabinet or pedestal, provided that the cabinet or pedestal is in use for its principal purpose and the sign does not interfere with such use.
- Historic signs.
- Flags that are hung from not more than three rigid, straight, building-mounted or ground-mounted flagpoles per one hundred feet of property frontage or fraction thereof, provided that no more than three flags are flown from any one flagpole, no flag obstructs pedestrian, bicycle, or vehicular traffic, or a required sight triangle, and no flag exceeds thirty-two square feet in area.
- Small signs affixed to a building or structure that do not exceed one square foot in sign area, provided that only one such sign is present on each building frontage visible from public rights-of-way or neighboring property.
- Signs less than one square foot in area affixed to machines, equipment, fences, gates, walls, gasoline pumps, public telephones, or utility cabinets.
- Temporary signs.

## Full detail

This page publishes an overview of every zoning district plus a sample of 3 districts in full. Complete zone-by-zone requirements for all 6 zoning districts in Alamosa — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Alamosa+CO&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-alamosa

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