# Sign Regulations in Kannapolis, North Carolina

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Kannapolis, North Carolina (NC)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/north-carolina/kannapolis
- **Data last verified:** 2025-07-31
- **Source:** [other municipal code](https://www.kannapolisnc.gov/Portals/0/Kannapolis/Departments/Planning/KDO%20Rewrite/Article%205%20Development%20Standards.pdf?ver=5wP9-JO3NRbAfgzLpDMZIw%3d%3d#page=99)

## At a glance

Kannapolis, North Carolina regulates 24 sign types across 5 zoning districts. Ground Sign - Pole or Monuments in the GC District zoning district are capped at 15 ft tall and 64 sq ft (Sec. Table 5.9.E(1)a; 5.9.E(3)a). Most commercial signs in Kannapolis require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (5 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 1 | 4 ft | 6 sq. ft. per sign face | — |
| GC District | 9 | 20 ft | 120 sq ft or 10% of façade area, whichever is less | — |
| O-I District, LI District, HI District | 8 | 8 ft (monument) or 6 ft (arm) | 64 sq ft (monument) or 9 sq ft (arm) | — |
| MU-N District, MU-AC District, CC District, MU-UC District, MU-SC District, PD-C District | 11 | 32 ft | 64 sq ft (monument); 9 sq ft (arm) | — |
| AG District, R1 District, R2 District, R4 District, R6 District, R7 District, R8 District, R18 District, TOD District, PD District, PD-TND District | 7 | 8 ft | 32 sq ft | — |

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

### GC District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ground Sign - Pole or Monument | 15 ft | 64 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a; 5.9.E(3)a |
| Ground Sign - Arm Sign | 6 ft | 9 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a; 5.9.E(3)a |
| Ground Sign - Combined Development | 20 ft | 64 sq ft + 10 sq ft per additional tenant (max 100 sq ft) | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a; 5.9.E(3)a |
| Ground Sign - Commercial Subdivision Entrance | 20 ft | 64 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage plus 1 per entrance road | 1 per frontage plus 1 per entrance road | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a |
| Ground Sign - Civic/Institutional | 15 ft | 64 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | 1 per frontage | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a |
| Wall Sign | Not to extend above the vertical wall | 120 sq ft or 10% of façade area, whichever is less | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a; 5.9.E(3)b |
| Projecting Sign | — | 6 sq ft | — | — | May be substituted for wall sign | Not to extend more than 5 ft from building wall, or into right-of-way | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a; Projecting/Suspended section |
| Suspended Sign | — | 4 sq ft | — | — | May be substituted for wall sign | Not to extend more than 5 ft from building wall, or into right-of-way | — | Table 5.9.E(1)a; Projecting/Suspended section |

### O-I District, LI District, HI District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ground Sign - Monument | 4 ft <25,000 GFA; 6 ft other cases | 32 sq ft <25,000 GFA; 64 sq ft ≥25,000 GFA; for combined: 32 sq ft +8 per additional tenant, max 64 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b; 5.9.E(3)a |
| Ground Sign - Arm Sign | 6 ft | 9 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b |
| Ground Sign - Subdivision Entrance | 6 ft | 32 sq ft (monument) or 9 sq ft (arm) | — | — | 1 per entrance road | 1 per entrance road | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b |
| Ground Sign - Civic/Institutional | 8 ft (monument) or 6 ft (arm) | 64 sq ft (monument) or 9 sq ft (arm) | — | — | 1 per frontage | 1 per frontage | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b |
| Wall Sign | Not to extend above the vertical wall | 64 sq ft (O-I); 120 sq ft (LI/HI) | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b |
| Canopy/Awning Sign | — | 12 sq ft | — | — | May be substituted for allowed wall sign | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b |
| Projecting Sign | — | 6 sq ft | — | — | May be substituted for allowed wall sign | Not to extend more than 5 ft from wall or into ROW | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b; Projecting/suspended section |
| Suspended Sign | — | 4 sq ft | — | — | May be substituted for allowed wall sign | Not to extend more than 5 ft from wall or into ROW | — | Table 5.9.E(1)b; Projecting/suspended section |

### MU-N District, MU-AC District, CC District, MU-UC District, MU-SC District, PD-C District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ground Sign - Monument (≥10,000 GFA) | 4 ft | 32 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c |
| Ground Sign - Arm Sign | 6 ft | 9 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c |
| Ground Sign - Combined Development (Major Thoroughfare) | 8 ft | 32 sq ft | — | — | 2 per entrance | On major thoroughfare | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c |
| Ground Sign - Combined Development (Not Major Thoroughfare) | 6 ft | 16 sq ft | — | — | — | Not on major thoroughfare | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c |
| Ground Sign - Civic/Institutional | 8 ft (monument); 6 ft (arm) | 64 sq ft (monument); 9 sq ft (arm) | — | — | 1 per frontage | 1 per frontage | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c |
| Wall Sign (CC District) | Not above vertical wall | 32 sq ft (general), 120 sq ft (major thoroughfare/CC/civic) | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c, note 4 |
| Wall Sign (MU-N, MU-AC, MU-UC, MU-SC, PD-C) | Not above vertical wall | 64 sq ft | — | — | 1 per frontage | — | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c |
| Projecting Sign | — | 6 sq ft | — | — | May be substituted for allowed wall sign | Not more than 5 ft from wall or into ROW | — | Table 5.9.E(1)c |

## Prohibited signs in Kannapolis

- Signs that approximate official highway signs, warning signs, or regulatory devices.
- Signs displaying blinking, flashing or intermittent lights, animation, and moving parts, except where changeable copy is allowed by a provision of Section 5.9.
- Portable signs.
- Feather signs.
- Wrap-around signs or other continuous wall signs that extend around building corners or radii.
- Off-premise signs, except as specifically permitted in Section 5.9.
- New outdoor advertising signs.
- Facsimile signs.
- Signs placed within a required sight triangle, public or private easement, or required stream buffer.
- Signs attached to utility poles, telephone poles, trees, parking meters, bridges and overpasses, rocks, other signs, benches, or refuse containers.
- Fence wraps displaying signage, except at a construction site in accordance with N.C.G.S. § 160A-381(j).
- Roof signs.
- Pavement markings for purposes other than traffic control.
- Signs placed within or extending into the right-of-way of City or state maintained streets and roads, except as specifically permitted in Section 5.9 or by state law.
- Signs that contain language or pictures obscene to the general public in accordance with N.C.G.S. § 14-190.1.
- Signs that advertise an activity or business no longer conducted on the property on which the sign is located.
- Indirect illumination, such as floodlights, erected in such a manner as to cause glare that impairs driver vision on streets or roadways or that causes a nuisance to adjoining property.
- Signs that obstruct fire escapes, windows, doors, or other openings used as means of egress or as required legal ventilation.
- Signs containing or consisting of pennants, ribbons, streamers, festoon lighting, balloons or inflatable components, or spinners.

## Signs exempt from permit in Kannapolis

- Signs erected by a local, state, or federal government body or agency.
- Signs required by local, state, or federal law.
- Signs within a structure that are not legible from the ground level of the exterior of the structure.
- Fence wraps displaying signage when affixed to perimeter fencing at a construction site in accordance with N.C.G.S. § 160D-908.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- An applicant proposing to erect one or more signs requiring a sign permit on a lot shall submit a Signage Plan with the sign permit application containing specified details (plot plan, locations, maximum areas, number & types of signs, etc).
- An application for a planned development, special use permit, or site plan for a combined development or other multi-tenant nonresidential or mixed-use development must include a master signage plan that allocates allowed signage among tenants and locations.
- Permanent signs proposed as part of a planned development or special use must be shown on the PD Master Plan or development plan, consistent with an approved Signage Plan.
- Applications for Comprehensive Sign Packages (for large freestanding structures or master planned developments over 10 acres) require a master signage plan as part of the package and are reviewed as a special use permit.

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

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