# Sign Regulations in Chesapeake Town, Maryland

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Chesapeake Town, Maryland (MD)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/maryland/chesapeake-town
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-28

## At a glance

Chesapeake Town, Maryland regulates 20 sign types across 4 zoning districts. Freestanding Signs in the General Commercial District (GC), Marine Commercial District (MC), Village Center District (V-1), Village Commercial District (V-2) zoning district are capped at 6 ft tall and 30 sq ft, with a 8 ft min from property line. setback (Sec. §120-6.5.6(A); Table (Land Use - Commercial), Article 6.5). Most commercial signs in Chesapeake Town require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (4 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| General Commercial District (GC), Marine Commercial District (MC), Village Center District (V-1), Village Commercial District (V-2) | 7 | 8 ft | 64 sq ft | — |
| Traditional Neighborhood Development District (TND), Resource Conservation District (RC) | 6 | 8 ft | 32 sq ft | — |
| Historic District | 1 | — | — | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 7 | 6 ft | 25% of window area | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 4 zones)

### General Commercial District (GC), Marine Commercial District (MC), Village Center District (V-1), Village Commercial District (V-2)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign | 6 ft | 30 sq ft | — | 8 ft min from property line. | 1 per site; more with sign program (see additional requirements) | Minimum 8-foot setback from any property line; not within or overhanging ROW. | — | §120-6.5.6(A); Table (Land Use - Commercial), Article 6.5 |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | 2 per linear building frontage; see note for larger buildings | Attached to building. Max projection of 38 inches from face. Minimum 8-ft clearance from ground/sidewalk. | — | §120-6.5.6(B); Table (Land Use - Commercial), Article 6.5 |
| Window Sign | — | No more than 25% of window area | — | — | — | Interior of window, to be viewed from outside. | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(6), §120-6.5.6(C) |
| Wall/Flat-Mounted Sign | No higher than second-floor windowsill on a building. | 30 sq ft | — | — | — | Wall-mounted, no higher than second-floor windowsill. | — | §120-6.5.6(D); Table (Land Use - Commercial), Article 6.5 |
| A-frame (Sandwich Board) Sign | 4 ft | 6 sq ft (one side); 12 sq ft (double-sided) | — | — | 2 per street frontage | In public right-of-way per business; not impeding traffic; if >35 mph road - 60 ft set back from ROW. | — | §120-6.5.6(F); Table (Land Use - Commercial), Article 6.5 |
| Marquee Sign | — | — | — | — | 1 per site | — | — | §120-6.5.6(E); Table (Land Use - Commercial), Article 6.5 |
| General Development Opening Sign | 8 ft | 64 sq ft | — | — | 1 per development opening | — | — | §120-6.5.5(D)(1) |

### Traditional Neighborhood Development District (TND), Resource Conservation District (RC)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign (Public/Open Space/Institutional/Assembly/Multifamily) | 6 ft | 20 sq ft per sign face | — | 8 ft min from property line | 1 per road frontage | 1 per road frontage | — | §120-6.5.7(A)(1) |
| Wall-Mounted Sign (Public/Open Space/Institutional/Assembly/Multifamily) | — | 20 sq ft | — | — | 1 | — | — | §120-6.5.7(A)(2) |
| Subdivision/Community Entrance Sign | 6 ft | 24 sq ft | — | — | 1 per street entrance | At street entrance; 1 per street entrance | — | §120-6.5.7(B) |
| Freestanding Sign (Home Occupation/Day Care/Bed and Breakfast) | 4 ft | 4 sq ft | — | 8 ft min from property line | 1 per lot per road frontage | 1 per lot per street frontage. | — | §120-6.5.7(C)(1) |
| Wall-Mounted Plaque/Nameplate Sign (Home Occupation/Day Care/Bed and Breakfast) | — | 2 sq ft | — | — | 1 | — | — | §120-6.5.7(C)(2) |
| General Development Opening Sign | 8 ft | 32 sq ft | — | — | 1 per development opening | — | — | §120-6.5.5(D)(2) |

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Temporary Sign | 4 ft | 6 sq ft | — | — | No more than 2 per property, or 1 per property with a legal nontemporary sign | — | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(2) |
| Parking Lot Accessory Sign - Entrance/Exit | — | 2 sq ft | — | — | 1 per entrance, 1 per exit | At parking lot entrance/exit | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(3)(a) |
| Parking Lot Accessory Sign - Condition of Use/Owership | — | 9 sq ft | — | — | 1 | Parking area | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(3)(b) |
| Parking Lot Accessory Sign - General | 6 ft | — | — | — | — | Parking area | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(3)(c) |
| Commemorative Plaque | — | 4 sq ft | — | — | 1 per building | Cut into/affixed to permanent surface | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(4) |
| Street Number/Address/Name Sign | — | 1 sq ft in TND; 3 sq ft in other districts | — | — | 2 per building | Building | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(5) |
| Window Display Sign (Interior) | — | 25% of window area | — | — | — | Interior to structure, visible from outside | — | §120-6.5.4(A)(6) |

## Prohibited signs in Chesapeake Town

- No signs shall be attached to utility poles, traffic signal poles, traffic control posts/signs, rocks, or trees visible from the public right-of-way whether on public or private property.
- Except for official public wayfinding signs and official directional, safety or traffic signs, no sign whether temporary or permanent shall be placed within any public rights-of-way within the Town unless specified within this article.
- No sign shall be located which will interfere with traffic visibility along the right-of-way of any street or along any private driveway exiting or entering a site or on any slope or drainage easement of a street.
- No signs shall be attached to the sloped section of a roof structure, except in the General Commercial District.
- No sign may be painted directly on any wall or roof of a building or on a fence visible from the public right-of-way.
- No sign shall project any intermittent, light-emitting diode, or flashing illumination except for official public road or street signs intended to promote traffic safety. New electronic message centers (EMCs) and digital electronic signs of any kind are prohibited.
- No flashing or rotating signs shall be permitted.
- Pennants, streamers, and moving, flashing, windblown and all other fluttering, spinning, or similar type signs, which includes strings of light bulbs, balloons or other inflated objects, are prohibited, except for special events with Zoning Administrator approval for the event period.
- Except for official traffic signs, no sign shall be displayed, visible from the public right-of-way, which uses the word "stop" or "danger" or that implies a need for or requirement of stopping or the existence of danger.
- Signs that are obscene, illegal, hazardous to traffic, imitative of official government signs (i.e., stop, danger, caution, etc.) or obstructive to public visibility, so as to create a hazard to the public, are prohibited.
- Signs attached to a parked motor vehicle, exceeding 12 square feet in area or the maximum allowable height for freestanding signs in the zoning district shall be prohibited.
- Billboard signs are prohibited.
- No sign shall be permitted which becomes unsafe or endangers the safety of a building, premises, or person.
- No sign shall be permitted to remain which through damage, disrepair or lack of maintenance has become impaired in its functionality or blighted in its appearance.
- Failure to comply with an order to repair or remove an unsafe/blighted sign results in the loss of any legal nonconforming status and requires removal or compliance.
- When a sign structure does not include a sign for a period of 90 consecutive days, such sign structure shall be deemed a violation and shall be removed.
- No sign shall obstruct a clear view to and from traffic along any street right-of-way, entrance, or exit.
- A sight visibility triangle shall be kept free of obstructions to vision between the heights of 2.5 feet and 12 feet above the street.
- Except within the General Commercial and Marine Commercial Districts, no internally lighted signs shall be permitted within Town. Where illumination of a sign is permitted, it shall be by indirect means external to the sign face.
- Any sign placed in public view for which no sign permit has been issued, and that is not otherwise exempted from the permit requirement, is unlawful.
- No person shall install, place, or maintain an unlawful sign and no person shall allow or permit the installation, placement, or maintenance of an unlawful sign on property owned by the person.

## Signs exempt from permit in Chesapeake Town

- Official traffic and parking signs provided they are erected by a governmental agency.
- Temporary signs, subject to: a property shall not display any temporary sign for more than 90 days in a year; sign is no larger than six square feet in area and four feet in height; no more than two temporary signs at the same time on a property (only one if the property already has a legal nontemporary sign); temporary signs shall not be illuminated.
- Signs accessory to parking lot uses: entrance/exit signs limited to one per entrance/exit (max two square feet in area), one additional sign up to nine square feet for conditions of use or ownership, and no such sign over six feet in height.
- Commemorative plaques: signs commemorating a historical building, its name register and/or erection date, when cut into or affixed to a permanent surface and not exceeding four square feet per building.
- Street number, address, and/or name: two such signs for each building not exceeding one square foot each in the TND District and three square feet each in all other zoning districts.
- Window displays and signs: interior signs to be viewed from the outside provided no more than 25% of the window area is covered; the area of window signage shall be included in the count of maximum allowable sign area and sign number for the site; no such sign shall be an internally lighted sign.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- A sign program (sign plan) is required for any multiple occupancy commercial, professional, industrial, residential, or institutional sites or separately identifiable building group, such as a medical complex or shopping center, or an individual site of at least one acre in size or with a proposed development exceeding 10,000 square feet of total building space.
- A sign program must be approved by the Planning Commission. For sites in the Historic District, prior approval by the Historic District Commission is also required.
- An application for a sign permit must include elevations and plans of all proposed signs drawn to scale, with all dimensions noted, and show the location of each sign.
- After approval of a sign permit and/or sign program, each sign installed and maintained on the subject site shall comply with the permit and program.
- A sign program shall comply with all provisions of the ordinance and is not intended to provide special or additional signage.
- Approval of a sign permit or sign program requires findings that the proposed signs do not exceed ordinance standards and are in substantial conformance with the Town's design criteria.
- Within the Historic District, all new signs and any existing signs to be altered in size, shape, or location require a permit of approval (certificate of approval) from the Historic District Commission.
- Applicants for sign permits in the Historic District should refer to the Historic District Commission's design guidelines for signs.
- No site plan for any property shall be approved unless it provides that all existing nonconforming signs and new signs are made to conform to the provisions of this article.

## 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 4 zoning districts in Chesapeake Town — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Chesapeake+Town+MD&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-chesapeake-town

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