# Sign Regulations in Delavan, Wisconsin

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Delavan, Wisconsin (WI)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/wisconsin/delavan
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-01
- **Source:** [ecode360 municipal code](https://ecode360.com/37440906#37440906)

## At a glance

Delavan, Wisconsin regulates 13 sign types across 5 zoning districts. Monument Signs in the General Regulations For All Zones zoning district are capped at Varies by zone tall and Varies by zone, with a Varies by zone setback (Sec. Figure 13-3-811(1)).

## Sign rules by zoning district (5 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 13 | 8-foot height | 24-square-foot area | — |
| Residential (RE, RH, RSs, RMs) | 5 | 8-foot height | 50-square-foot area per frontage | — |
| Small-Scale (BN, I, ON) | 5 | 8-foot height limit | 200-square-foot area | — |
| Large-Scale (BL, BR, MG, ML, MH, OP) | 5 | 25-foot height limit | 250-square-foot area per frontage | — |
| Downtown (BC) | 5 | 25-foot height limit | 50-square-foot area per frontage | — |

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

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monument Sign | Varies by zone | Varies by zone | — | Varies by zone | 1 sign per street frontage, plus 1 sign per lot with more than 200 feet of total street frontage | Sign setback varies by Zoning District | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Wall Sign | — | Varies by zone | — | — | 1 sign per exterior wall not abutting residential use or zoning district, plus 1 sign per customer entry | 1 sign per exterior wall not abutting residential use or zoning district, plus 1 sign per customer entry | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Projecting Sign | — | Varies by zone | — | — | — | Mounted directly to the building | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Blade Sign | — | Varies by zone | — | — | 1 for each customer entrance | 1 for each customer entrance | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Menu Board Sign | — | Varies by zone | — | — | 1 for each business | Within 10 feet of customer entrance | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Sandwich Board Sign | 4-foot height | 6-square-foot area | 2-foot width | — | — | — | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Bulletin Board Sign | 8-foot height | 10-square-foot area | — | — | — | — | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Order Board Sign | 8-foot height | 24-square-foot area | — | — | — | Drive-through | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |

### Residential (RE, RH, RSs, RMs)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monument Sign | 8-foot height | 50-square-foot area per frontage | — | 1 foot | 1 sign per street frontage, plus 1 sign per lot with more than 200 feet of total street frontage | Sign setback varies by Zoning District | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Wall Sign | — | 12-square-foot area | — | — | 1 sign per exterior wall not abutting residential use or zoning district, plus 1 sign per customer entry | 1 sign per exterior wall not abutting residential use or zoning district, plus 1 sign per customer entry | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Blade Sign | — | 12-square-foot area | — | — | 1 for each customer entrance | 1 for each customer entrance | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Menu Board Sign | — | 8-square-foot area | — | — | 1 for each business | Within 10 feet of customer entrance | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Sandwich Board Sign | 4-foot height | 6-square-foot area | 2-foot width | — | — | — | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |

### Small-Scale (BN, I, ON)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monument Sign | 8-foot height limit | 100-square-foot area per frontage | — | 1 foot | 1 sign per street frontage, plus 1 sign per lot with more than 200 feet of total street frontage | Sign setback varies by Zoning District | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Wall Sign | — | 200-square-foot area | — | — | 1 sign per exterior wall not abutting residential use or zoning district, plus 1 sign per customer entry | 1 sign per exterior wall not abutting residential use or zoning district, plus 1 sign per customer entry | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Blade Sign | — | 14-square-foot area | — | — | 1 for each customer entrance | 1 for each customer entrance | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Menu Board Sign | — | 8-square-foot area | — | — | 1 for each business | Within 10 feet of customer entrance | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |
| Sandwich Board Sign | 4-foot height | 6-square-foot area | 2-foot width | — | — | — | — | Figure 13-3-811(1) |

## Prohibited signs in Delavan

- No sign shall be erected at any location where it may interfere with, obstruct the view of, or be confused with any authorized traffic sign, signal or device.
- No fluttering, undulating, swinging, rotating, or otherwise moving signs such as windsocks, motorized signs, pennants, and streamers shall be permitted.
- No signs shall project above the building parapet or eave, or be mounted on or extend above the roof, if attached to the building, unless approved under the downtown character sign review process.
- No flashing, scrolling, or animated signs shall be permitted.
- No signs shall be mounted to an unlicensed trailer or other unlicensed vehicle.
- No beacons or search beacons shall be permitted.
- No billboards or off-premises advertising signs shall be permitted, except as City information signs, window signs, or yard signs.
- No abandoned signs shall be permitted.
- No sign shall be located within a required bufferyard or within a permanently protected green space area.
- No illuminated sign shall be permitted unless the illumination of the sign is so designed that the lighting element is not visible from any property within a residential zoning district.
- All illuminated signs that are visible from any parcel in a residential zoning district within 100 feet of the sign shall be limited to the hours of customer access.

## Signs exempt from permit in Delavan

- Traffic control and other government messages located within a right-of-way.
- Decorations that are incidentally and customarily associated with any national holiday or religious holiday, or with any community festival or similar event.
- Flags which do not contain a commercial message, commercial logo, or commercial colors.
- Art works, including but not limited to wall murals, which do not contain a commercial message, logo, or colors; and/or which contain pictorial representations referring to businesses, merchandise, products, or services of an exclusively historic nature of 50 years or older.
- Building colors and lighting which do not contain a commercial message, commercial logo, or commercial colors.
- Interior site signs located on the interior of the grounds of the following land uses: a passive outdoor public recreational facility, an active outdoor public recreational facility, or an outdoor institutional facility, which are primarily oriented to persons within the grounds.
- Interior building signs located on the interior of a building and not attached to or located within three feet of the inside of a window, which are primarily oriented to persons within the building.
- Window displays of merchandise, pictures, or models of products or services incorporated in a window display, which are not directly attached to an interior or exterior window surface.
- Vehicles that are licensed, operable, and parked in legal parking spaces.
- Individual signs less than one square foot in area are not regulated by this Title.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- The owner or tenant may request all such signs at one site be included under one permit.
- When a proposed sign is associated with any development that requires a Site Plan, a sign permit shall not be granted prior to the approval of a site plan.
- Marquee signs may only be approved through the downtown character sign review process.
- The PID process shall not be used exclusively as a sign variance; rather, flexibility for signage shall be approved as part a PID that meets the purposes of the PID.

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

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