# Sign Regulations in North Liberty, Indiana

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

- **Jurisdiction:** North Liberty, Indiana (IN)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/indiana/north-liberty
- **Data last verified:** 2025-05-08
- **Source:** [municode municipal code](https://library.municode.com/IN/North_Liberty/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH32ZO_ARTXSIRE)

## At a glance

North Liberty, Indiana regulates 12 sign types across 5 zoning districts. Freestanding Signs in the R1 District, R2 District, OB District zoning district are capped at 8 ft. tall and 32 sq. ft., with a 5 ft. setback (Sec. Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01). Most commercial signs in North Liberty require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (5 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| R1 District, R2 District, OB District | 6 | 8 ft. | 32 sq. ft. | — |
| Multifamily | 3 | 8 ft. | 32 sq. ft. | — |
| TC Town Center District | 6 | 25 ft. | 100 sq. ft. | — |
| C Commercial District, GI General Industrial District | 8 | 35 ft. | 672 sq. ft. | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 5 | Varies by zone (see zone regs) | Varies by zone (see zone regs) | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 5 zones)

### R1 District, R2 District, OB District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign | 8 ft. | 32 sq. ft. | — | Front: 10 ft.; Side: 5 ft. | 1 per entrance; 1 per frontage, per lot or integrated center | Front yard setback 10 ft., side yard setback 5 ft. | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Wall Sign | — | — | — | — | No limit, provided total sign surface area does not exceed the allowed % of façade | On building façade | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | 1 per 100 ft of width of front façade | — | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01; Sec. 32-293(c) |
| Directional Sign | 3 ft. | 2 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per driveway or entrance, plus 1 per critical turn | 1 per driveway or entrance, plus 1 per critical turn | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Temporary Sign | 4 ft. | 6 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per street or limited access highway | Freestanding: must comply with permanent sign setbacks; Wall: must comply with wall sign regulations | — | Sec. 32-298(2) |
| Sandwich Board Sign (Temporary) | 4 ft. | 6 sq. ft. | — | — | — | Within 10 ft of main customer entrance; not in right-of-way | — | Sec. 32-298(4) |

### TC Town Center District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign | 25 ft. | 100 sq. ft. | — | Front: 0 ft; Side: 5 ft. | — | Front setback: 0 ft; side setback: 5 ft. | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Wall Sign | — | — | — | — | — | On building façade | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | 1 per 100 ft of width of front façade | — | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01; Sec. 32-293(c) |
| Directional Sign | 3 ft. | 6 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per driveway or entrance, plus 1 per critical turn | 1 per driveway or entrance, plus 1 per critical turn | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Temporary Sign | 8 ft. | 32 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per street or limited access highway | Freestanding: must comply with permanent sign setbacks; Wall: must comply with wall sign regulations | — | Sec. 32-298(3) |
| Sandwich Board Sign (Temporary) | 4 ft. | 6 sq. ft. | — | — | — | Within 10 ft of main customer entrance; not in right-of-way | — | Sec. 32-298(4) |

### C Commercial District, GI General Industrial District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign | 25 ft. | 150 sq. ft. | — | Front: 10 ft.; Side: 5 ft. | — | Front setback: 10 ft; side setback: 5 ft. | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Wall Sign | — | — | — | — | — | On building façade | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | 1 per 100 ft of width of front façade | — | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01; Sec. 32-293(c) |
| Directional Sign | 3 ft. | 6 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per driveway or entrance, plus 1 per critical turn | 1 per driveway or entrance, plus 1 per critical turn | — | Sec. 32-299, Table 10.01 |
| Off-premise Sign (Arterial Street) | 35 ft. | 672 sq. ft. | — | Same as required for any building or structure | — | — | — | Sec. 32-300 |
| Off-premise Sign (Non-Arterial Street) | 35 ft. | 300 sq. ft. | — | Same as required for any building or structure | — | — | — | Sec. 32-300 |
| Temporary Sign | 8 ft. | 32 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per street or limited access highway | Freestanding: must comply with permanent sign setbacks; Wall: must comply with wall sign regulations | — | Sec. 32-298(3) |
| Sandwich Board Sign (Temporary) | 4 ft. | 6 sq. ft. | — | — | — | Within 10 ft of main customer entrance; not in right-of-way | — | Sec. 32-298(4) |

## Prohibited signs in North Liberty

- No sign may be located, erected, or maintained without obtaining an improvement location permit unless exempt as specified under section 32-296.
- No sign shall interfere with the clear sight area specified in section 32-20.
- No sign may be constructed, connected, operated, or maintained in violation of the building and electrical codes of the Town.
- No sign or its lighting may shine on, cause glare to, or otherwise impair the vision of drivers on a public right-of-way.
- Signs located on, in, or above the right-of-way of any street or alley are prohibited except for official signs, authorized governmental signs, or permitted projecting signs.
- No sign, permanent or temporary, shall obstruct the sight distance at street intersections as specified in section 32-20.
- Signs which interfere with, obstruct the view of, imitate, copy, purport to be, or may be confused with any authorized official sign, traffic sign, traffic signal, or traffic control device are prohibited.
- Signs attached to or painted on a vehicle parked and visible from the public right-of-way are prohibited, except under limited circumstances (vehicle used in regular business and parked beside/behind building, or sign is less than nine square feet).
- Windblown devices designed to inform or attract attention such as banners, pennants, spinners, streamers, propellers, discs, moored blimps, balloons, feather banners or flags are prohibited unless exempted as flags in section 32-296.
- Signs attached to trees are prohibited.
- Signs attached to utility poles are prohibited except for signs erected by or with authorization of a governmental body or utility company.
- Signs that contain obscene, pornographic, or immoral statements, words, pictures, or untruthful or offensive advertising matter are prohibited.
- Any sign that obstructs or substantially interferes with a window, door, fire escape, stairway, ladder, or any opening intended to provide light, air, ingress, or egress to a building is prohibited.
- Any rotating beam, beacon, intermittent light, lights of changing degrees of intensity, or flashing illumination in connection with any sign surface is prohibited except as part of an electronic message center sign as regulated.
- Roof signs are prohibited.
- Any sign located on private property outside of a public right-of-way not expressly permitted by article X of this ordinance is prohibited.
- All other signs not expressly permitted or regulated by the ordinance are prohibited.

## Signs exempt from permit in North Liberty

- Up to four flags with a combined area not to exceed 96 square feet, with all flag poles permanently anchored or attached to a principal or accessory structure.
- Integral, decorative, or architectural features of buildings, provided they do not contain logos, letters, or trademarks.
- Interior signs located entirely within the interior of a building and not viewable or intended to be viewable from the public right-of-way.
- Official signs, including government mandated signs (e.g., street addresses, public hearing signs), official traffic/directional/warning signs, signs indicating danger by public service companies, and public notices erected under government authority.
- Holiday displays with no commercial message, primarily decorative in nature, associated with a national or religious holiday, and erected no more than 30 days prior to the holiday and removed within 15 days after.
- Tombstones.
- Three-dimensional works of art (statuary, sculptures) and two-dimensional works of art (murals) that are artistic in nature and do not contain text or logos promoting on-site activities or commercial interests, except two-dimensional works of art exceeding 10% of the building façade must be approved as a wall sign.
- Window signs not exceeding the lesser of 25% of the window area or 12 square feet in sign surface area per sign.
- Temporary signs as provided in section 32-298.
- Exempt signs must still comply with the provisions of section 32-20 (likely regarding sight distance or vision clearance).

## Sign plan & submission notes

- The ordinance does not explicitly require a master sign plan or sign plan for all zones, nor does it require a variance meeting for all signs. Permits (improvement location permits) are required for most signs unless exempt under section 32-296.
- Approval as a wall sign is required for two-dimensional works of art (murals) exceeding 10% of the façade of the building on which they are placed.
- Any encroachment over the public right-of-way by a sign must be approved by the Town or INDOT (see note in Table 10.01).

## 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 5 zoning districts in North Liberty — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=North+Liberty+IN&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-north-liberty

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