# Sign Regulations in San Juan, Texas

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

- **Jurisdiction:** San Juan, Texas (TX)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/texas/san-juan
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-09

## At a glance

San Juan, Texas regulates 5 sign types across 6 zoning districts. Freestanding Signs in the Central Business District zoning district are capped at 30 feet tall and Varies by street frontage, with a No minimum setback from property lines setback (Sec. §3.05.011(6)(D)(vi)). Most commercial signs in San Juan require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (6 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Central Business District | 2 | 30 feet | 50 sq. ft. or 15% of the wall area | — |
| Expressway Corridor District | 1 | 42 ft. | 676 sq. ft. combined faces | — |
| Residential District (R-1, R-MF, R-MH) | 1 | — | 200 sq. ft. | — |
| Commercial District (C-1, C-2, C-3) | 2 | 30 feet | 50 sq. ft. or 15% of the wall area | — |
| Industrial District (I-1, I-2) | 2 | 30 feet | 50 sq. ft. or 15% of the wall area | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 1 | — | 35 sq. ft. | — |

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

### Central Business District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | 50 sq. ft. or 15% of the wall area | — | — | Calculated with sum total allowed per business sign | Attached directly to a building surface | — | §3.05.011(6)(D)(ii) |
| Freestanding Sign | 30 feet | Varies by street frontage | — | No minimum setback from property lines | 1 per street frontage | On premises | — | §3.05.011(6)(D)(vi) |

### Commercial District (C-1, C-2, C-3)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | 50 sq. ft. or 15% of the wall area | — | — | Calculated with sum total allowed per business sign | Attached directly to a building surface | — | §3.05.011(6)(D)(ii) |
| Freestanding Sign | 30 feet | Varies by street frontage | — | No minimum setback from property lines | 1 per street frontage | On premises | — | §3.05.011(6)(D)(vi) |

### Industrial District (I-1, I-2)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | — | 50 sq. ft. or 15% of the wall area | — | — | Calculated with sum total allowed per business sign | Attached directly to a building surface | — | §3.05.011(6)(D)(ii) |
| Freestanding Sign | 30 feet | Varies by street frontage | — | No minimum setback from property lines | 1 per street frontage | On premises | — | §3.05.011(6)(D)(vi) |

## Prohibited signs in San Juan

- All signs not expressly permitted under this article or exempt from regulation are prohibited in the city.
- Portable signs, banners, streamers, pennants, and other such temporary signs, except as allowed under sections 3.05.015 and 3.05.016.
- Signs which contain or have attached thereto banners, posters, pennants, ribbons, streamers, balloons, strings of lights, spinners or other similar devices, except as allowed under sections 3.05.015 and 3.05.016.
- Snipe or bandit signs.
- Signs violating the visibility clearance area restrictions.
- Off-premises signs in the city limits, except billboards, which shall be regulated in conformance with section 3.05.012.
- Billboards in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
- Signs which advertise an activity, business, or service no longer conducted on the premises upon which the sign is located.
- Signs or portions thereof which are located on, or project or extend over, any public right-of-way, any public sidewalk, street, or alley, or other public property, except as outlined below.
- Signs which are placed on a berm or other structure so as to artificially increase the height above the maximum allowed.
- Signs which make use of any word, phrase, symbol, character, or illumination in such manner as to interfere with, mislead, or otherwise constitute a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
- Signs which resemble official traffic-control signs, signals, or devices, which bear the words 'stop,' 'go slow,' 'caution,' 'danger,' 'warning,' or similar words.
- Signs which contain reflectors or glaring, strobe, or rotating lights, beacons, beams or flashing illumination resembling an emergency signal.
- Signs placed on the side or rear of any building or property when such sign is adjacent to a residential area from which such sign is visible.
- Any sign or advertising device attached to any motor vehicle or any trailer parked on a public right-of-way, on public property, or on private property so as to be visible from a public right-of-way, the basic purpose of which sign or advertising device is to provide advertisement of a product or to direct people to a business or activity located on the same property or other property or premises.
- Any stereopticon or motion picture machine used in conjunction with or attached to any sign in such manner as to permit the images projected therefrom to be visible from any public street or sidewalk.
- Spectacular signs and signs which emit audible sound, odor, or visible matter.
- Off-premises electronic variable message signs and off-premises animated signs.
- On-premises electronic variable message signs and on-premises animated signs in any residential district, including R-1 (single-family residential district), R-MF (multi-family residential district), R-MH (manufactured home district), and any newly created residential district.

## Signs exempt from permit in San Juan

- Copy change and sign face replacement, when no increase in sign area or height is made, for signs otherwise allowed under this article.
- Construction sign when placed upon the construction site following the issuance of a building permit.
- Contractor signs identifying the contractor or subcontractor performing work on the premises where the sign is displayed.
- Flags of the United States, the state, or any other political subdivision, any flag or banner of a bona fide religious, fraternal or charitable organization, and flags of corporations, subdivisions, or community associations or organizations.
- Gasoline price signs.
- Incidental signs, provided that such signs shall not exceed 4 square feet and shall comply with all other requirements of this article.
- Noncommercial message signs, provided that such signs shall not exceed a total of 64 square feet in area per lot and no single sign shall exceed 32 square feet in area per face and shall not exceed five feet in height to the top from the surrounding finished grade.
- On-site directional signs and street identification signs not exceeding 4 square feet which denote the entrance, exit, and direction of traffic flow, provided that such directional signs do not contain advertising and are not used as such.
- Political advertising signs, but only if such signs conform to section 3.05.014.
- Professional nameplates and occupational signs, when attached to the building face and which denote only the name and occupation of an occupant in a commercial building or public institutional building and not exceeding four square feet per sign area.
- Real estate signs which advertise the sale, rental or lease of the premises on which such signs are located.
- Signs on public fences or other locations in public parks and playfields as approved by the city.
- Signs prepared by or for the local, state or federal government marking sites or buildings of historical significance.
- Temporary signs advertising garage sales, provided that such signs shall be removed within one day following the sale and shall not be placed on public property, right-of-way or utility poles.
- Traffic or street signs, legal notices, public utilities, railroad crossing signs, danger, and such emergency, temporary or non-advertising signs as approved by the city may be located in the public right-of-way.
- Window signs of a temporary nature only.
- Works of art that do not include a commercial message.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- Any person aggrieved by the action of the planning director in the denial of an application for a sign permit, or a master sign plan, shall have the right to appeal to the board of adjustments.
- For new developments or redevelopment a Sign Master Plan shall be submitted in accordance with Section 3.05.010, Master Sign Plan.

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

---

PermitPal — AI sign code research. Full HTML page: https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/texas/san-juan