# Sign Regulations in Cortlandt, New York

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Cortlandt, New York (NY)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/new-york/cortlandt
- **Data last verified:** 2025-12-17
- **Source:** [ecode360 municipal code](https://ecode360.com/7694584#7694584)

## At a glance

Cortlandt, New York regulates 17 sign types across 5 zoning districts. Freestanding Sign (Single Tenant)s in the Commercial District CC zoning district are capped at 10 feet tall and 16 square feet, with a Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A setback (Sec. Table 1; § 245-7B). Most commercial signs in Cortlandt require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (5 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Residential Districts (R-160, R-80, R-40, R-40A, R-20, R-15, R-10, RG, AWE, MOH, DNO) | 2 | — | 20 square feet | — |
| Commercial District CC | 6 | 10 feet | 40 square feet (as part of total signage) | — |
| Commercial Districts (HC, CD) | 9 | 24 feet | 100 square feet per sign (3 signs) or 120 square feet per sign (2 signs) or 150 square feet (1 sign) | — |
| Industrial Districts (MD, M-1, M-1A) | 5 | 16 feet | 80 square feet (as part of total signage) | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 5 | — | 24 square feet | — |

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

### Commercial District CC

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign (Single Tenant) | 10 feet | 16 square feet | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 1 per property | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot | — | Table 1; § 245-7B |
| Freestanding Sign (Multiple Tenants) | 10 feet | 16 square feet | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 1 per site | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot | — | Table 1 Note 1; § 245-7B; § 245-4F |
| Projecting Sign | — | 8 square feet | — | — | 1 per property | attached to the wall of any building or other structure at an angle greater than 15 degrees and projecting more than 12 inches from said wall | — | Table 1; § 245-7B |
| Business Wall Sign | 10 feet, but not above eave line | 40 square feet (as part of total signage) | — | — | — | attached flat or at an angle of less than 15° against the wall of any building or structure and projecting less than 12 inches from said wall | — | Table 1; § 245-7B; § 245-4B |
| Temporary Window Sign | — | 40 square feet | — | — | — | placed in a window | — | Table 1; § 245-7B; Sign, Window definition |
| Wind Sign | — | — | — | — | — | in all commercial zoning districts | — | § 245-4G |

### Commercial Districts (HC, CD)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign (Single Tenant) | 16 feet | 24 square feet | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 1 per property | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot | — | Table 1; § 245-7B |
| Freestanding Plaza/Property Identification Sign (Multiple Tenants, Site <100,000 sq ft) | 16 feet | 24 square feet | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 1 | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot | — | Table 2; § 245-7B; § 245-4F |
| Freestanding Plaza/Property Identification Sign (Multiple Tenants, Site 100,000-499,999 sq ft) | 20 feet | 50 square feet per sign (2 signs) or 75 square feet (1 sign) | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 2 | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot | — | Table 2; § 245-7B; § 245-4F |
| Freestanding Plaza/Property Identification Sign (Multiple Tenants, Site >=500,000 sq ft or Cortlandt Blvd >120,000 sq ft) | 24 feet | 100 square feet per sign (3 signs) or 120 square feet per sign (2 signs) or 150 square feet (1 sign) | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 3 | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot | — | Table 2; § 245-7B; § 245-4F |
| Projecting Sign | — | 12 square feet | — | — | 1 per property | attached to the wall of any building or other structure at an angle greater than 15 degrees and projecting more than 12 inches from said wall | — | Table 1; § 245-7B |
| Business Wall Sign | 16 feet | 80 square feet (as part of total signage) | — | — | — | attached flat or at an angle of less than 15° against the wall of any building or structure and projecting less than 12 inches from said wall | — | Table 1; § 245-7B; § 245-4B |
| Temporary Window Sign | — | 80 square feet | — | — | — | placed in a window | — | Table 1; § 245-7B; Sign, Window definition |
| Directional Sign (Shopping Areas >=100,000 sq ft) | — | 10 square feet per sign | — | — | Approved by Planning Board | along traveled ways within the parking lot | — | § 245-7C |

### Industrial Districts (MD, M-1, M-1A)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign (Single Tenant) | 16 feet | 24 square feet | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 1 per property | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot | — | Table 1; § 245-7B |
| Freestanding Sign (Multiple Tenants) | 16 feet | 24 square feet (freestanding) + 24 square feet total attached business signs | — | Distance from property line determines additional area increase per Table A | 1 per site | upon or supported by the ground, independent of the principal building or structure on a lot, with business signs attached thereto | — | Table 1 Note 3; § 245-7B |
| Projecting Sign | — | 12 square feet | — | — | 1 per property | attached to the wall of any building or other structure at an angle greater than 15 degrees and projecting more than 12 inches from said wall | — | Table 1; § 245-7B |
| Business Wall Sign | 16 feet | 80 square feet (as part of total signage) | — | — | — | attached flat or at an angle of less than 15° against the wall of any building or structure and projecting less than 12 inches from said wall | — | Table 1; § 245-7B; § 245-4B |
| Wind Sign | — | — | — | — | — | in all commercial zoning districts | — | § 245-4G |

## Prohibited signs in Cortlandt

- Portable signs are prohibited in all zoning districts.
- Banners are prohibited in all zoning districts.
- Any sign that cannot be classified under any sign category specifically permitted or exempted by this article is prohibited in all zoning districts.
- Signs in public places and upon objects (such as sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs, street lampposts, hydrants, trees, etc.) are prohibited in all zoning districts.
- General advertising signs (billboards and posterboards) are prohibited in all zoning districts except manufacturing or industrial zones.
- No sign shall be located within a public right-of-way or project horizontally into a public right-of-way except traffic signs or other governmental or neighborhood signs necessary to the public health, safety or welfare.
- No sign shall have or consist of any moving, rotating or otherwise animated part or, when permitted to be illuminated, any flashing, blinking, change of intensity or color, fluctuating or otherwise animated light, with the exception of time and temperature information.
- No sign shall be erected at an intersection or along any highway in such a manner as to obstruct free and clear vision or at any location where, by reason of its position, shape or color, it may interfere with, obstruct the view of or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device, or which makes use of the words 'stop,' 'look,' 'danger' or any other word, phrase, symbol or character in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic.
- Billboards and outdoor advertising signage of any type are expressly prohibited on boats, barges, floats, or vessels within 1,500 feet of the shore of any waterway, including the Hudson River.

## Signs exempt from permit in Cortlandt

- Signs of duly constituted governmental bodies and their agencies where such signs are established in the interest of the safety, convenience or welfare of the general public (including traffic signs, legal notices and warnings at railroad crossings).
- Flags and emblems of a national, state, county or local government or of a patriotic, religious, philanthropic, civic or educational organization when not larger than 12 square feet in area.
- Decorative flags projecting from a building when not larger than 10 square feet in area.
- Official public notices and notices posted by public officers in the performance of their duties.
- Memorial plaques, cornerstones, historical tablets and the like.
- Nameplate signs when four square feet or less in area and not more than one per name for each street frontage.
- Signs, including licenses required to be maintained or posted by law or government order, rule or regulation.
- Nonilluminated signs, none exceeding four square feet in area, displayed strictly for the direction, safety or convenience of the public, including signs which identify rest rooms, telephones and other facilities or conveniences, parking area entrances or exits or freight entrances or for the purposes of indicating the location or restricting the use of off-street parking areas when these are provided by the owner or occupant of the building.
- Holiday decorations displayed in season.
- Sale or lease signs when eight square feet or less in size and not more than one per property.
- Temporary signs advertising events associated with nonprofit organizations or charitable events (allowed 30 days prior to an event and must be removed seven days after the event).
- Political signs (allowed eight weeks prior to an election and must be removed within seven days after an election).
- Weekend directional signs (allowed between the hours of 12:00 noon on Fridays and 12:00 noon on Mondays).
- A nonilluminated construction or subdivision development sign indicating names and information pertinent to the project not to exceed 20 square feet in size and not closer than 20 feet to any property line (one sign per project allowed for two years with the right to be extended by the Planning Board).

## Sign plan & submission notes

- In all commercial zoning districts, where a building is divided by party walls or by permanent partitions into separate and distinct business areas and each such area is occupied by a different tenant, the site shall be subject to a Master Sign Plan, approved by the Planning Board as part of the site development plan approval.
- The Planning Board with recommendation by the Architectural Review Council may increase the permitted sign area per Attachment 1 Table A.
- As a part of the site development plan approval process, the Planning Board shall refer all relevant information pertaining to sign design and placement to the Architectural Review Council for review and comment.
- In any case where site development plan approval is not required, the Director of Code Administration and Enforcement shall refer any sign permit application to the Architectural Review Council for review and comment.
- Application for modification to any existing sign(s) as determined by the Director of Technical Services, whether or not such signs were previously approved as part of site development plan approval by the Planning Board, shall be reviewed and approved by the DOTS Director with the assistance of the Architectural Review Council; the DOTS Director shall have the option to refer applications to the Planning Board for its review and approval.
- Upon the filing of a sign application, the DOTS Director shall determine whether the premises has an approved site development plan or is currently before the Planning Board; if before the Planning Board, the sign permit application shall not be processed until the Planning Board approves the site development plan including the proposed sign.
- The Planning Board shall consider and approve freestanding signs that are combined to represent two adjoining properties and the square footage thereof shall not exceed the total allowed for both properties.
- When any existing or proposed sign is before the Planning Board as an integral part of a proposed site development plan pursuant to Article XII, Site Development Plan Approval, § 307-66, of the Code of the Town of Cortlandt, such signs shall be subject to the approval of the Planning Board with respect to location on the site, position on any building, type of supporting structure and type and character of all materials used.
- Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Director of Code Administration and Enforcement relative to the provisions of this article may appeal such decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
- The Zoning Board of Appeals may vary or modify the application of this article where it finds unique circumstances, but in no event shall grant a variance in excess of 100% of the sign area otherwise permitted by 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 5 zoning districts in Cortlandt — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Cortlandt+NY&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-cortlandt

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