20.050 Signs in Commercial, Mixed Use, Business Park and Industrial Districts.

• A. Permitted Sign Types. No sign, outdoor advertising structure, or display of any character shall be permitted in a C, MU, BP, or I District except the following:

  1. Exempted signs. Signs exempted from sign permits.

2. Sale, lease and rental signs. One (1) sign pertaining to the sale, lease, rental, or display of a structure or land, not exceeding six (6) square feet in a C1 District or twenty (20) square feet in a C2, MU1, MU2, BP or I District.

3. Shopping center free-standing signs. One (1) free-standing sign not exceeding thirty (30) feet in height and two hundred (200) square feet in area on the site of a shopping center, with a maximum height of ten (10) feet from the bottom to top of the sign face, provided that all buildings are set back not less than thirty (30) feet from the curb or street pavement edge on which the shopping center fronts. Shopping centers fronting on two (2) or more public streets shall be allowed one (1) additional free-standing sign for each additional frontage. Such signs shall not exceed twenty-five (25) square feet in area nor a height of fifteen (15) feet.

4. Other free-standing signs. One (1) free-standing sign not exceeding the height of the main building, or twenty (20) feet, whichever is lower, provided that all buildings are set back not less than twenty-five (25) feet from the curb or street pavement edge on which the use fronts; or one (1) free-standing sign not exceeding five (5) feet in height and twenty (20) square feet in area provided that all buildings are set back not less than fifteen (15) feet from the curb or street pavement edge on which the use fronts and the sign blends architecturally with the main building on the lot.

5. Wall signs. No more than two (2) wall signs for each primary building face (no building shall be deemed to have more than four [4] primary building faces), not exceeding a thickness of ten (10) inches, including any light box or other structural part, in all C, MU, BP or I Districts. Refer to section 20.140 for Freeway Oriented Sign standards.

6. Projecting signs. One (1) projecting sign for each building frontage not exceeding ten (10) square feet in area and not projecting over two (2) feet from any wall surface. Exception: any sign suspended under a marquee, porch, walkway or similar covering structure may project more than two (2) feet from any wall surface but shall not project beyond the walkway covering structure.

7. Temporary signs. One (1) temporary construction sign not exceeding forty (40) square feet in area nor eight (8) feet in height on the site of the structure while under construction and shall contain only names of persons, firms and information pertaining to the structure.

B. Permitted Area of Signing. For all C (Commercial), MU (Mixed Use), BP (Business Park), and I (Industrial) zoning districts exclusive of shopping centers, the maximum permitted area of signing for any occupant shall be the following:

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

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Ch. 20 Signs and Sign Structures | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance

1. One (1) square foot of sign area for every ground level linear foot of building frontage; or in the case of buildings with multiple building frontages, one (1) square foot of sign area for every ground level linear foot of the longest building frontage plus one-half (1/2) square foot of signing for every linear foot of additional frontage, where no building exists the maximum allowable sign area shall be derived from the allowable building envelope (area exclusive of setback), not to exceed the maximum stated in Subsection 3 below.

2. Buildings fronting on more than one (1) public right-of-way may not combine permissible sign area for one frontage with another frontage.

3. No sign or combination of signs on a parcel located in said districts shall exceed two hundred (200) square feet nor shall be restricted to less than twenty (20) square feet of permanent signing.

4. One (1) directory sign not exceeding twelve (12) square feet in area to identify occupants of the upper floors in a multi-story building, in addition to the maximum stated in subsection 3 hereof.

5. The sign area for all uses located in a shopping center shall be allotted in accordance with the following procedures:

   • a. Multiply the number of businesses within the center by one hundred (100) square feet to determine the total aggregate sign area.

   • b. Subtract the area of the free-standing shopping center signs, if any. The maximum allowable area of the main free-standing sign shall not exceed two hundred (200) square feet, and other permitted freestanding signs shall not exceed twenty-five (25) square feet.

c. Multiply the number of businesses within the center by twenty (20) square feet (a sign area constant available to each business in a shopping center to assure that businesses with very small floor areas will have adequate sign area for identification) and subtract the result from the balance of the aggregate sign area.

d. Determine the total floor area for all businesses in the center, then determine what percentage each store represents of the total floor area.

e. Use the floor area percentage ratio to determine the percentage of the balance of the sign area to be allotted to each store, and add the “constant” twenty (20) square foot area.