# Sign Regulations in Trotwood, Ohio

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Trotwood, Ohio (OH)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/ohio/trotwood
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-11
- **Source:** [amlegal municipal code](https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/trotwood/latest/trotwood_oh/0-0-0-32640)

## At a glance

Trotwood, Ohio regulates 7 sign types across 9 zoning districts. Permanent Ground Signs in the Residential Districts (RSF, RMF, R-TF, R-FF) zoning district are capped at 4 ft tall and 24 sq ft per face, with a 5 ft from public right-of-way setback (Sec. 1185.07(a)). Most commercial signs in Trotwood require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (9 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Residential Districts (R-1 to R-4) | 1 | — | 4.5 sq ft | — |
| Residential Districts (RSF, RMF, R-TF, R-FF) | 2 | 4 ft | 24 sq ft per face | — |
| Office-Residential District (O-R) | 2 | 8 ft | 24 sq ft per face | — |
| Neighborhood, General and Olde Town Business Districts (N-B, G-B, OT-B) | 2 | 5 ft | 30 sq ft per face | — |
| Business and Commercial Districts (R-B, B-P, C-R) | 2 | 25 ft | 50 sq ft per face | — |
| Industrial Districts (L-I) | 2 | 20 ft | 50 sq ft per face | — |
| Agricultural Districts (AG) | 2 | 15 ft | 24 sq ft per face | — |
| Planned Unit Development Districts (PUD) | 1 | — | — | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 1 | 4 ft | 6 sq ft per face | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 9 zones)

### Residential Districts (RSF, RMF, R-TF, R-FF)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Permanent Ground Sign | 4 ft | 24 sq ft per face | — | 5 ft from public right-of-way | 1 per development | Along a principal arterial, major arterial or entryway | — | 1185.07(a) |
| Temporary Ground Sign | 4 ft | 10 sq ft per face | — | 5 ft from public right-of-way | 1 per parcel | On individual residential parcel | — | 1185.07(b) |

### Office-Residential District (O-R)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Permanent Ground Sign | 4 ft | 24 sq ft per face | — | 5 ft from public right-of-way | 1 per developed parcel | At least 50 ft from adjacent residential district | — | 1185.08(a) |
| Permanent Wall Sign | 8 ft | 6 sq ft | — | — | 1 per street frontage | Per street frontage | — | 1185.08(b) |

### Agricultural Districts (AG)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Permanent Ground Sign | 4 ft | 24 sq ft per face | — | 5 ft from public right-of-way | 1 per developed parcel | Not within 5 ft of public right-of-way | — | 1185.12(b) |
| Permanent Wall Sign | 15 ft | 16 sq ft | — | — | 1 per building frontage | Per building frontage | — | 1185.12(c) |

## Prohibited signs in Trotwood

- Abandoned signs.
- Beacons and Searchlights, except for emergency, health or safety purposes.
- Billboards and other off-premise signs.
- Blinking, flashing or intermittent lighting, except those permitted as part of an electronic copy signs.
- Moving, animated or rotating signs.
- Pennants, streamers, and similar devices.
- All helium, gas and air balloons located on or anchored to structures, vehicles, the ground, or to anything connected to or on the ground.
- Portable signs except as authorized under temporary signs.
- Projecting signs, except as provided elsewhere in this Code.
- Roof signs.
- Signs attached to any tree, utility pole, fence, bench, trash receptacle, or newspaper vending machine.
- Signs for which a permit has not been issued by the city or which are not exempt under 1185.03.
- Signs attached to or painted on the face of accessory buildings except those attached to automatic teller machines or similar structures.
- Any sign which, by reason of its size, shape, location, content, coloring or manner of illumination: Constitute a traffic hazard or a detriment to traffic safety by obstructing the vision of drivers or by obstructing or detracting from the visibility of any traffic sign or control device on public streets and roads.
- May be confused with a traffic-control sign, signal or device or the light of an emergency or road equipment vehicle.
- Signs which make use of words, phrases, symbols or characters in such a manner as to interfere with, mislead or confuse traffic.
- Signs which obstruct free ingress and egress from a required door, window, fire escape, or other required exit way.
- Signs or parts thereof which are erected within or above a public right-of-way.
- Signs which convey visual information that may be prohibited under the obscenity statutes of the state.
- Spinning devices or strings of spinning devices.
- Window signs which cover more than 50% of total window area.
- Attention-getting devices such as balloons, spinners, pennants, streamers and similar devices or ornamentation except as permitted under Sec. 1185.06 D.
- Strings of light bulbs, except when used for decorative purposes during a holiday season.

## Signs exempt from permit in Trotwood

- Public signs.
- Signs of public service companies for the purpose of safety.
- Signs located in the interior of any building which are designed and located to be viewed exclusively by patrons of such use or uses.
- Public Interest signs authorized by Council.
- Address signs displayed by the inhabitants of single-family residential structures.
- Signs which are painted directly upon or affixed to the body or other integral part of a motor or recreation vehicle for the purpose of advertising, decoration or for identification.
- “No trespassing” signs or other such signs regulating the use of a property such as "no hunting", "no fishing"
- Names of buildings and subdivisions, and date of erection when cut into any masonry or stone surface, or inlaid so as to be part of a building, or when constructed of bronze or other incombustible material.
- Flags of any country, state or unit of local government.
- Gasoline and service station pump signs which are internally mounted to indicate the number of gallons, the price and the total amount of the purchase.
- Directional and Circulation signs provided they do not exceed 2 square feet in area per sign face.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- Planned Unit Development Sign Programs. Signs which have been approved as part of a Planned Unit Development sign program may vary from the requirements stated within this subchapter.
- Developers, owners, and managers of proposed new developments and/or revised and remodeled existing developments shall be required to submit to the Zoning Administrator a Sign Program for the development.

## 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 9 zoning districts in Trotwood — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Trotwood+OH&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-trotwood

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