# Sign Regulations in Haymarket, Virginia

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Haymarket, Virginia (VA)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/virginia/haymarket
- **Data last verified:** 2025-05-08
- **Source:** [municode municipal code](https://library.municode.com/VA/Haymarket/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH58ZOSU_ARTXVIISI)

## At a glance

Haymarket, Virginia regulates 14 sign types across 4 zoning districts. Wall Signs in the Gateway zoning district are capped at 15 ft. above floor level; no limit specified tall and Front: 25 sq. ft.; Rear/Side: 36 sq. ft., with a At least ten feet from any lot line, or no closer than the building façade to the lot line, whichever is less (Sec. 58-17.7(b) Gateway) setback (Sec. Sec. 58-17.14(a); Sec. 58-17.4; Sec. 58-17.9; Sec. 58-17.7(d)). Most commercial signs in Haymarket require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (4 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gateway | 8 | 15 ft. above floor level; no limit specified | Front: 25 sq. ft.; Rear/Side: 36 sq. ft. | — |
| Core | 7 | 15 ft. above floor level | Lesser of 20% of window area or 6 sq. ft. | — |
| Residential | 2 | No higher than 4 ft. from existing grade | 6 sq. ft. | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 6 | Freestanding/wall/portable/banner: 6 ft.; A-frame: 5 ft. | 24 sq. ft. per flag | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 4 zones)

### Gateway

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | 15 ft. above floor level; no limit specified | Front: 25 sq. ft.; Rear/Side: 36 sq. ft. | — | At least ten feet from any lot line, or no closer than the building façade to the lot line, whichever is less (Sec. 58-17.7(b) Gateway) | 1 per business per road frontage | Flat, mounted on building facade; shall not extend more than six inches from the building surface | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a); Sec. 58-17.4; Sec. 58-17.9; Sec. 58-17.7(d) |
| Freestanding Sign | 10 feet | 24 sq. ft. per sign; 36 sq. ft. total | — | At least ten feet from any lot line, or no closer than the building façade to the lot line, whichever is less (Sec. 58-17.7(b) Gateway) | 1 per road front; 2 per lot | — | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a); Sec. 58-17.4; Sec. 58-17.9; Sec. 58-17.7(d) |
| Channel Letter Sign | Letter height: 2.5 ft; 15 ft. above floor level | 25 sq. ft. total | — | — | 1 per business per road frontage | — | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a); Sec. 58-17.4; Sec. 58-17.9; Sec. 58-17.7(d) |
| Projecting Sign | Not less than 9 ft. from the bottom edge of the sign | 10 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per business | Mounted perpendicular to principal building facade; projects no greater than four feet from building and no closer than one foot to the street curb | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a) |
| Directional Sign | 4 ft. | 4 sq. ft. | — | — | 2 per business | On premises to facilitate flow of customer traffic | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a) |
| Window Sign | — | Lesser of 20% of window area or 6 sq. ft. | — | — | Not specified | Affixed, painted, or stenciled on a window | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a) |
| Painted Sign | 15 ft. above floor level | Not to exceed 15% of that wall area | — | — | 1 on side or rear wall | On side or rear wall of building | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a) |
| Awning Sign | — | — | — | — | Not specified | On canopy or awning | — | Sec. 58-17.14(a) |

### Core

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign | 15 ft. above floor level | 12 sq. ft. | — | At least five feet from any lot line, or no closer than the building façade to the lot line, whichever is less (Sec. 58-17.7(b) Core) | 1 per business per road frontage | Flat, mounted on building facade; shall not extend more than six inches from the building surface | — | Sec. 58-17.14(b); Sec. 58-17.4; Sec. 58-17.9; Sec. 58-17.7(d) |
| Freestanding Sign | 8 feet | 18 sq. ft. per sign; 24 sq. ft. total | — | At least five feet from any lot line, or no closer than the building façade to the lot line, whichever is less (Sec. 58-17.7(b) Core) | 1 per road frontage; 2 maximum per lot | — | — | Sec. 58-17.14(b) |
| Channel Letter Sign | Letter height: 1.5 ft; 15 ft. above floor level | 18 sq. ft. total | — | — | 1 per business per road frontage | — | — | Sec. 58-17.14(b) |
| Projecting Sign | No less than 9 ft. from bottom edge | 9 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per business | Mounted perpendicular to principal building facade; projects no greater than four feet from building and no closer than one foot to the street curb | — | Sec. 58-17.14(b) |
| Directional Sign | 4 ft. | 4 sq. ft. | — | — | 1 per business | On premises to facilitate flow of customer traffic | — | Sec. 58-17.14(b) |
| Window Sign | — | Lesser of 20% of window area or 6 sq. ft. | — | — | Not specified | Affixed, painted, or stenciled on a window | — | Sec. 58-17.14(b) |
| Awning Sign | — | — | — | — | Not specified | On canopy or awning | — | Sec. 58-17.14(b) |

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Temporary Sign (Gateway) | Freestanding/wall/portable/banner: 6 ft.; A-frame: 5 ft. | Freestanding, wall, portable, banner signs: 8 sq. ft.; A-frame: aggregate 12 sq. ft.; Window: cannot obstruct over 20% window area | — | — | Freestanding, wall, portable, or banner: 1 per location; Window: not specified; A-frame: 1 per business or 1 per 30 linear feet of sidewalk (whichever is more restrictive) | — | — | Sec. 58-17.8(1) |
| Temporary Sign (Residential) | Freestanding/wall: 6 ft. | Freestanding/wall: 16 sq. ft. per property; window: cannot obstruct over 20% of total window area on each building façade | — | — | Not specified | — | — | Sec. 58-17.8(2) |
| Temporary Sign (Core) | Freestanding/wall/portable/banner: 6 ft.; A-frame: 5 ft. | Same as Gateway district: 8 sq. ft. for freestanding, wall, portable, banner; A-frame: aggregate 12 sq. ft.; window: cannot obstruct over 20% window area | — | — | Same as Gateway | — | — | Sec. 58-17.8(3) |
| Temporary Sign (All Zones - Required by Law) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sec. 58-17.8(4) |
| Minor Sign | — | — | — | — | 3 per separate road frontage per lot | — | — | Sec. 58-17.5(2) |
| Flag | — | 24 sq. ft. per flag | — | — | 3 per lot | — | — | Sec. 58-17.5(5) |

## Prohibited signs in Haymarket

- Signs not expressly permitted by this article, by specific requirements in another portion of this chapter, or otherwise expressly allowed by the town council are forbidden.
- Flashing signs or signs lighted in a varying degree including strobe lights.
- Moving or rotating signs.
- Off-premises signs (except in the I-1 zoning district).
- Inflatable signs.
- Signs located anywhere on the roof.
- Signs located on the wall of a building that extend above the roofline or wall, or extend into a front, side, or rear yard setback.
- Signs illuminated with sodium halide lights; and any illuminated sign that emits lighting levels in excess of the limitation.
- Electronic message boards.
- Abandoned sign structures.
- Signs, including posters and handbills affixed to any structures, trees or other natural vegetation, rocks, or poles.
- Any sign that may be confused with or obstruct the view of any authorized traffic sign or signal or obstruct the sight-distance triangle at any road intersection or extend into the public right-of-way or otherwise create a distraction for drivers.
- Signs that prevent free ingress or egress from any door, window, fire escape, or that prevent free access from one part of a roof to any other part or otherwise adversely affect safety or are in violation of any building code or other applicable law.
- Signs that emit smoke, visible vapors, particles, normally detectable sound, or odor, including open flames used to attract public attention.
- Mirrors or mirror devices on, in, or as part of a sign.
- Feather signs.
- Artificially increasing the height of the sign by berming or mounding dirt or other material at the sign base is prohibited.

## Signs exempt from permit in Haymarket

- Signs erected by a governmental body or required by law, including official traffic signs or sign structures, provisional warning signs or sign structures, and temporary signs indicating danger.
- Minor signs not exceeding three total signs per separate road frontage per lot, and not less than 30 feet apart.
- Change of message or content of an approved sign.
- Notice must be given to the zoning administrator 30 days in advance of installation.
- Flags, provided, however, that no single flag shall exceed 24 square feet in area and no single lot shall display more than three flags.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- Materials, colors, and styles of permanent signs are subject to approval by the architectural review board in accordance with the Historic District Design Guidelines adopted by the town council.
- A zoning permit must be obtained from the zoning administrator before erecting, constructing, posting, painting, altering, or relocating a sign, except for signs otherwise exempted by this article.
- If required, approval of a certificate of appropriateness by the architectural review board (ARB) is needed before a sign permit will be issued.
- Applicants for a sign permit must provide a detailed permit application, including drawings/specifications, location, construction, materials, illumination, number of signs, style of wording, and a plat showing locations.
- Sign permit applications must follow the Historic District Design Guidelines, as amended.
- Signs requiring architectural review must be approved by the ARB within 60 days; the zoning administrator must issue a permit within three business days of ARB approval.

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

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