# Sign Regulations in Leominster, Massachusetts

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Leominster, Massachusetts (MA)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/massachusetts/leominster
- **Data last verified:** 2025-05-08
- **Source:** [municode municipal code](https://library.municode.com/MA/Leominster/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH2AADSI)

## At a glance

Leominster, Massachusetts regulates 30 sign types across 6 zoning districts. Freestanding Sign - Up to 150 ft frontages in the BA, BB, C, I, MU1, MU2, V zoning district are capped at No higher than maximum building height in district or as otherwise limited. tall and 100 sq ft (main); 50 sq ft (additional tenants), with a ≥10 ft from street line or half required yard, whichever is more restrictive. setback (Sec. Sec. 22-74.4.2, Sec. 22-71.10.1). Most commercial signs in Leominster require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (6 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BA, BB, C, I, MU1, MU2, V | 15 | 8 ft | 200 sq ft | — |
| DO, MSO, UCO | 2 | — | — | — |
| RR, RA, RB, RC, Residential Districts | 8 | — | 32 sq ft | — |
| Overlay District | 1 | — | — | — |
| Nonresidential Districts | 3 | — | 64 sq ft | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 2 | No more than 35 ft above grade | 3 sq ft | — |

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

### BA, BB, C, I, MU1, MU2, V

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign - Principal | — | 200 sq ft | — | — | 1 per business establishment per wall; 2 if corner lot; or divided between two signs. | Affixed to wall of business; only on wall where business resides and is visible or accessible to public; if corner lot, may have 2 such principal wall signs. Total area may be divided between two wall signs. | — | Sec. 22-74.4.1, Sec. 22-71.1-71.5, Sec. 22-69 |
| Wall Sign - Secondary | — | 50 sq ft | — | — | 1 per separate building, entrance, or frontage; not more than two secondary signs. | Per building, entrance, or frontage on street or parking area. | — | Sec. 22-74.4.4 |
| Freestanding Sign - Up to 150 ft frontage | No higher than maximum building height in district or as otherwise limited. | 100 sq ft (main); 50 sq ft (additional tenants) | — | ≥10 ft from street line or half required yard, whichever is more restrictive. | 1 per lot. For corner lots, see next sign type. | Freestanding on lot with up to 150 ft frontage. | — | Sec. 22-74.4.2, Sec. 22-71.10.1 |
| Freestanding Sign - Over 150 ft frontage | No higher than maximum building height in district or as otherwise limited. | 150 sq ft (main); 60 sq ft (additional tenants) | — | ≥10 ft from street line or half required yard, whichever is more restrictive. | 1 per lot, plus possibly a second for corner lots (see next). | Freestanding on lot with over 150 ft frontage. | — | Sec. 22-74.4.2, Sec. 22-71.10.1 |
| Freestanding Sign - Corner Lot (Second Sign) | No higher than maximum building height in district or as otherwise limited. | 70 sq ft (main); 30 sq ft (additional tenants) | — | — | 1 additional sign for a total of 2. | Second freestanding sign for corner lot with applicable frontage. | — | Sec. 22-74.4.3 |
| Directory Sign - Wall | — | Per number of occupants/tenants | — | — | 1 per entrance/frontage. | Wall of principal building, at entrance/frontage. | — | Sec. 22-74.5 |
| Directory Sign - Freestanding (V district only) | 8 ft | 4.5 sq ft per tenant | 6 ft | — | 1 | Freestanding, where several nonresidential operations are accessed via same common entrance. | — | Sec. 22-74.5.1 |
| A-frame or Banner-stand Sign | 4 ft | 8 sq ft | 2 ft | — | — | BA, BB, C, I, MU1, MU2, V zones, allowed on sidewalk with clearance. | — | Sec. 22-70.1.7 |

### RR, RA, RB, RC, Residential Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Name/Address Sign (Single- or Two-Family) | — | 1 sq ft; 2 sq ft for accessory use | — | — | 1 per dwelling | 1 per dwelling without permit | — | Sec. 22-74.3.1, Sec. 22-71.6.4 |
| Name/Address Sign (Multi-Family/Development) | — | 12 sq ft (principal wall or freestanding sign); additional building 2 sq ft | — | — | 1 principal per development/group, plus 1 secondary per separate building | 1 principal wall or freestanding sign per development. | — | Sec. 22-74.3.2 |
| Institutional Sign (Church, School, etc) | — | 20 sq ft (one), 10 sq ft (second), 10 sq ft per additional sign on campus | — | — | 2 per street frontage, additional within campus | On each street frontage; 1 per frontage may be freestanding and used for notices. | — | Sec. 22-74.3.3 |
| Nonconforming/Permitted Nonresidential Use Sign - Wall | — | 20 sq ft (wall) | — | — | 1 per use | — | — | Sec. 22-74.3.4 |
| Nonconforming/Permitted Nonresidential Use Sign - Freestanding | — | 15 sq ft (freestanding) | — | — | 1 per use | — | — | Sec. 22-74.3.4 |
| Temporary Sign - Residential | — | 6 sq ft | — | — | 1 per candidate or event | Per lot. | — | Sec. 22-73.1.1 |
| Subdivision/Construction Sign - Residential | — | 32 sq ft | — | ≥10 ft from street lot line or half setback. | 1 per premise | — | — | Sec. 22-73.4 |
| Real Estate Sign - Residential | — | 6 sq ft | — | ≥10 ft from street lot line or half building setback. | 1 per parcel | Per parcel in one ownership. | — | Sec. 22-73.5 |

### Nonresidential Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Temporary Sign - Nonresidential | — | 16 sq ft | — | — | 1 per candidate or event | Per nonresidential lot. | — | Sec. 22-73.1.2 |
| Subdivision/Construction Sign - Nonresidential | — | 64 sq ft | — | ≥10 ft from street lot line or half setback. | 1 per premise | — | — | Sec. 22-73.4 |
| Real Estate Sign - Nonresidential | — | 32 sq ft | — | ≥10 ft from street lot line or half building setback. | 1 per parcel | Per parcel in one ownership. | — | Sec. 22-73.5 |

## Prohibited signs in Leominster

- No signs may be erected, displayed, or maintained within the city, except those specifically provided for in the ordinance.
- Signs must not detract from a building's architecture or cover architectural elements such as cornices, columns, arches, details, or other building features.
- No sign or part of any sign may flash, move, or make noise, except portions solely indicating time, temperature, or changing messages as allowed by section 22-75.
- No sign may use colored lighting, open flame, or bare bulbs.
- Signs must not cause glare to motorists, pedestrians, or neighboring premises.
- No sign may contain red or green lights if they would, in the opinion of the chief of police, constitute a driving hazard.
- No signs may be erected, relocated, or maintained so as to prevent free access to any door, window, or fire escape.
- No sign, except for a traffic regulatory or informational sign, may use the words 'stop,' 'caution,' or 'danger,' or similar words in such a manner as to present or imply the need or requirement of stopping or caution or the existence of danger, or which, for any reason in the opinion of the chief of police, is likely to be confused with any traffic regulatory or informational sign.
- No sign may be erected or maintained so as to create a traffic hazard or obscure/make difficult the reading of signs or signals regulating and controlling traffic.
- No sign together with supporting framework may extend above the maximum building height allowed in its district.
- In residential districts, the top of a sign may not extend above the roof line; in other districts, not more than eight feet above the roof line.
- No freestanding sign may be located nearer to the street line than one-half the distance of the required front yard, and never closer than ten feet from the street line.
- No sign may be located in the required side or rear yard.
- No attached sign may project more than twelve inches from the wall, except in BB districts and in BA districts where there is insufficient frontage for freestanding signs.
- No sign may be posted directly on the exterior wall surface; signs must be affixed to a substantial intermediary removable surface.
- No sign may be posted upon any tree, bridge, fence, guidepost, or pole used for transmission of electricity in the city.
- All lighted signs must be lighted by continuous light and contain a factory-applied label supplied to the manufacturer and controlled by an approved testing agency.

## Signs exempt from permit in Leominster

- Signs erected by or on the order of a governmental agency for governmental or public safety purposes, excluding any advertising.
- Names of buildings, date of erection, monumental citations, and commemorative tablets when made a permanent and integral part of a building, not to exceed ten square feet.
- Banners or flags emblematic of or issued by national, state, or local governments.
- Signs indicating the name and address of the occupant of a residential dwelling, not to exceed two square feet (with accessory use or occupation: up to two square feet).
- Window signs in nonresidential buildings, and, in certain districts, in residential buildings, not to exceed twenty percent of window area.
- Customary signs on gasoline pumps indicating in usual size and form the name, type of gasoline, and price.
- A-frame or banner-stand signs in designated districts, no larger than two feet by four feet, professionally lettered, properly weighted, with sidewalk placement requirements.
- Clocks and thermometers displaying only time and temperature.
- Holiday decorations and lights when in season.
- Signs not exceeding two square feet indicating warnings, hazards, or public conveniences such as 'No Trespass,' 'Beware of Dog,' or restroom signs.
- Governmental signs or signs promoting city-run events and/or happenings are exempt from off-premises sign provisions.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- Permit applications must include scale drawings and information showing the location, type, and area of all signs on the premises, in addition to information for the sign for which the permit is sought.
- Plans, structural drawings, and specifications as required by the Inspector must be filed with the sign permit application for both temporary examination and permanent record.
- All signs not specifically exempted in section 22-70 require a permit from the director of inspections before erection.

## 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 Leominster — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Leominster+MA&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-leominster

---

PermitPal — AI sign code research. Full HTML page: https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/massachusetts/leominster