# Sign Regulations in Lima Town, New York

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Lima Town, New York (NY)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/new-york/lima-town
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-28
- **Source:** [ecode360 municipal code](https://ecode360.com/16123750#16123750)

## At a glance

Lima Town, New York regulates 25 sign types across 6 zoning districts. Freestanding On-Premises Business Signs in the General Business Use District B, Industrial Use Districts zoning district are capped at 10 ft tall and 60 sq ft, with a 10 ft from any property line/right-of-way. setback (Sec. §250-73B(1-8), §250-72G(10), §250-72G(8)). Most commercial signs in Lima Town require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (6 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Land Conservation Districts | 5 | — | 12 sq ft | — |
| Residence Use Districts | 7 | — | 12 sq ft | — |
| Agricultural Use District A | 6 | — | 12 sq ft | — |
| General Business Use District B, Industrial Use Districts | 8 | 10 ft | 60 sq ft (base maximum, plus possible increase if building is set back over 100 ft) | — |
| Planned Development Districts | 2 | — | — | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 10 | 10 ft | 20 sq ft | — |

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

### Residence Use Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Building Identification Sign | — | 8 sq ft | — | — | — | Identifying any building or use permitted | — | §250-72I(2)(a), §250-72G(7) |
| Real Estate Sign | — | 12 sq ft | — | — | — | Placed on property for sale or rent | — | §250-72I(2)(a), §250-72G(7) |
| Public Utility Identification Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Identification of a public utility installation | — | §250-72I(2)(a), §250-72G(7) |
| Sign Incident to Legal Process/Public Welfare | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | §250-72I(2)(a), §250-72G(7) |
| Noncommercial Speech Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Any residential lot, but must not interfere with vehicle sight distances | — | §250-72I(2)(a); §250-72J(1) |
| Home Occupation Sign | — | 2 sq ft | — | — | 1 | On premises of the home occupation | — | §250-72I(2)(b), §250-72G(7) |
| Temporary Special Event Sign | — | — | — | — | — | On site or premises of a special event sponsored by a church or nonprofit institution | — | §250-72I(2)(c), §250-72G(7) |

### General Business Use District B, Industrial Use Districts

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | 60 sq ft (base maximum, plus possible increase if building is set back over 100 ft) | — | — | 1 per wall per street frontage or per building | Attached to wall or face of building; only on ground floor for multi-story buildings. Where a building has frontage on more than one street, one wall sign per frontage. | — | §250-73A(1), §250-72G(10), §250-72G(8), §250-73A(1)(g) |
| Awning/Canopy Sign | — | — | — | — | — | On awning/canopy extending from building | — | §250-73A(2) |
| Freestanding On-Premises Business Sign | 10 ft | 60 sq ft | — | 10 ft from any property line/right-of-way. | 1 per lot | On the same lot or parcel, must display name of business(es) and type. 10 ft from any property/right-of-way line. | — | §250-73B(1-8), §250-72G(10), §250-72G(8) |
| Directional Sign | 4 ft | 2 sq ft | — | 5 ft to property line | — | For direction only (e.g., entrance, exit, parking), no closer than 5 ft to property line. | — | §250-73C |
| Temporary Advertising or Promotional Banner | — | 30 sq ft | 10 ft (length), 3 ft (width) | — | 1 per business | — | — | §250-73D |
| Directional Traffic Control / Reserved Parking / Handicapped Parking Sign | — | 1.5 sq ft | — | — | — | Outside of road right-of-way for commercial uses | — | §250-72H(2)(f) |
| Home Occupation Sign | — | 4 sq ft | — | — | 1 | On premises of the home occupation | — | §250-72I(6)(b) |
| Noncommercial Speech Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Instead of commercial message, may be placed on any conforming commercial sign. | — | §250-72J(2) |

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Temporary Sale/Lease/Rental Sign | — | 6 sq ft | — | 5 ft (townhouse/condo) | 1 per premises | Premises being sold, leased, or rented | — | §250-72H(2)(b) |
| Temporary Open/Inspection Sign (Premises) | — | 6 sq ft | — | — | 1 | On premises being advertised for sale, marked as 'Open' or 'Open for Inspection' | — | §250-72H(2)(d) |
| Temporary Open/Inspection Sign (Off-Premises) | 3 ft max | 6 sq ft per sign | — | — | 2 | Off premises at nearest intersections; not to interfere with sight distances. | — | §250-72H(2)(e) |
| Temporary Window Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Window | — | §250-72H(2)(c) |
| Temporary Site Development Sign (Ground) | 6 ft | 20 sq ft | — | — | 1 | On vacant sites undergoing development, oriented toward public way | — | §250-72H(2)(g)[2][b]-[f] |
| Temporary Site Development Sign (Wall) | 10 ft | 20 sq ft | — | — | 1 | On structure undergoing redevelopment, oriented toward public way | — | §250-72H(2)(g)[2][c]-[f] |
| Municipal Signs | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | §250-72H(2)(h) |
| Temporary Construction-Related Sign | — | 20 sq ft | — | — | — | On temporary buildings for uses incidental to construction work | — | §250-72H(2)(g)[1] |

## Prohibited signs in Lima Town

- Signs are not permitted as a principal use; only as an accessory use.
- No attached sign shall extend within a street or road property line unless said line is the building line, in which case signs may extend over the street or road property line for a distance not exceeding four feet.
- No freestanding sign larger than eight square feet shall have less than three feet of open space at the bottom extending its entire length.
- No sign shall exceed 10 feet in height, as measured from the top of said sign to the ground, including any pole or attaching structure, or extend above the facade of the building to which it is attached.
- Freestanding signs shall not be located within 10 feet of the legal right-of-way of the abutting public road.
- No new off-premises advertising signs or billboards shall be erected or permitted in any zone within the Town, except for those advertising a farm operation located within a county agricultural district.
- Signs that make use of or display moving or changing letters, symbols, pictures or messages, whether illuminated or nonilluminated, and self-illuminated signs (other than those with a light source concealed behind translucent glass, plates or similar material) or the use of flashing or intermittent lighting in connection with signs shall not be permitted. (Exception: Time or temperature signs allowed.)
- No more than two typefaces should be used on any one sign or group of signs indicating one message.
- The number of colors used should be the minimum consistent with the design.
- No sign in a residential district may be illuminated.
- No sign shall be internally illuminated.
- No sign erected pursuant to the temporary development/construction provision shall remain after the last certificate of occupancy, termination of work, or 12 months from the date of sign erection, whichever occurs first.
- Nonconforming signs shall not be altered, rebuilt, enlarged, extended or relocated unless such action makes the sign conforming.
- Abandoned signs shall not be reused and must be removed by the property owner within 30 days of demand from the Code Enforcement Officer.
- Any sign advertising a business that has closed for more than six months must be removed at the expense of the property owner within 30 days of a demand from the Code Enforcement Officer.
- No new billboard sign may be erected or permitted in any zoning use district in the Town.
- No existing billboard sign may be altered, modified or converted to electronic or digital format or style.
- No existing billboard sign may be internally illuminated.
- Billboard signs substantially damaged or destroyed may not be repaired or replaced but must be removed and discontinued.
- Sandwich-board-style signs are prohibited.

## Signs exempt from permit in Lima Town

- Noncommercial speech signs, as defined and regulated, do not require a permit.
- Signs advertising the sale, lease or rental of the premises upon which the sign is located, not exceeding six square feet, do not require a permit (one per premises; special placement rules for townhouses/condos).
- Temporary window signs do not require a permit.
- One sign, not exceeding six square feet, bearing a legend such as 'Open' or 'Open for Inspection' on premises being advertised for sale does not require a permit.
- Two off-premises signs, not exceeding six square feet each, bearing a legend such as 'Open' or 'Open for Inspection' at specified intersections, do not require a permit if they do not interfere with sight distances and are no more than three feet in height.
- Traffic control signs such as 'No Parking', 'Reserved Parking', 'Parking Reserved for Handicapped Parking', and similar, for commercial uses outside of the road right-of-way, do not require a permit (limited to 1.5 sq ft per sign).
- Temporary signs on temporary buildings incidental to construction work (max 20 sq ft; removed upon completion/abandonment) do not require a permit.
- One temporary ground or wall site development sign (max 20 sq ft) to identify a development of real property is exempt from permitting, subject to timing and placement conditions.
- Municipal signs do not require a permit.
- Repainting or refacing of a conforming commercial speech sign, provided the copy or logo does not change, does not require a permit.
- Replacement of commercial speech copy on a conforming commercial speech sign with noncommercial speech copy does not require a permit.
- Temporary advertising or promotional banners (see §250-73E) do not require a permit.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- A sign permit is required prior to erecting a sign, except for exempted signs as explicitly listed.
- The Code Enforcement Officer has authority to issue sign permits for commercial speech signs permitted in any zoning district.
- The Planning Board approves all sign permit applications in conjunction with site plan review for signs associated with a project that requires site plan approval.
- The Code Enforcement Officer may approve modifications to an approved sign site plan, provided there is no change to the number, location or total area of signs.
- The proposed freestanding business sign in General Business and Industrial Use Districts (250-73B) is subject to Planning Board review through the site plan approval process.

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

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