How Everett Handles Sign Regulations: A Practical Guide

Everett maintains 131 local ordinances across all categories, and 5 of those deal specifically with sign regulations. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Everett falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Window Signs

Everett Municipal Code § 19.36.050(E) caps commercial window signs, permanent and temporary combined, at twenty-five percent of the window area, restricts them to specific materials like neon, stained glass, gold leaf, cut vinyl and etched glass, and limits internally lit neon or stained glass window signs to one per fifteen feet of building frontage.

Key details: Size cap: 25% of window area, permanent + temporary. Allowed materials: Neon, stained glass, gold leaf, cut vinyl, etched glass. Illuminated window signs: Max 1 per 15 feet of building frontage. Wall sign area: Window signs excluded from wall-sign calculation. Governing section: EMC 19.36.050(E).

EMC 19.36.050 sets no standalone dollar penalty of its own. Window signage exceeding the twenty-five percent window-area cap, using a material outside the permitted list, or installed without the required sign permit under EMC 19.36.020(A) is treated as noncompliant at plan review or field inspection, and the property owner or tenant must bring the display back within the size, material and permit requirements to keep the sign in place.

Freeway-Facing Signs

Any sign within 660 feet of Interstate 5 in Everett, Washington may need Washington State DOT sign-off before the city will issue its own sign permit.

Key details: Trigger distance: within 660 ft of I-5. State authority: WSDOT, WAC ch. 468-66. Also required: city sign permit. Burden of approval: on the applicant.

Erecting or altering a sign within the 660-foot I-5 zone without the required WSDOT approval, or without a city sign permit, is a violation under EMC 19.36.030(D), enforceable through Chapter 1.20 EMC.

Digital Billboards

Electronic changing message signs are legal in Everett but tightly boxed in: no animation or video imaging, a mandatory 2-1-2 message transition, automatic dimming with nit caps that fall to 150 at night, and an outright ban on video boards, under Everett Municipal Code § 19.36.050(C).

Key details: Video boards: Prohibited outright, EMC 19.36.050(C)(7). Animation/video imaging: Banned on all electronic changing message signs, (C)(3). Message timing: 2-1-2 rule: 2 sec hold, 1 sec transition, 10 sec cycle. Daytime brightness cap: 5,000 nits maximum. Nighttime brightness cap: 150 nits maximum.

A sign that violates Chapter 19.36, including an unpermitted video board or a display that skips the 2-1-2 transition rule, is enforced by the planning director under EMC 19.36.030(D) as a civil infraction under Chapter 1.20 EMC, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense, and it also stands as a public nuisance the city can abate through Snohomish County Superior Court, with costs taxed to the violator.

This is one of the stricter rules in Everett's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Political Signs

Everett, Washington treats political and yard signs the same as any other temporary sign: residential lots get up to four signs and six square feet total, with no election-specific carve-out.

Key details: Max signs: 4 per residential lot. Combined size cap: 6 sq. ft. total. Height cap: 6 feet (residential). Election carve-out: none: content-neutral rule.

Placing more than four signs (or over six square feet combined) on a residential lot, or leaving temporary signs up past the required removal window, violates EMC 19.36.060 and is enforceable under Chapter 1.20 EMC per EMC 19.36.030(D).

Holiday Displays

Everett's sign code bans balloons or inflated displays over 24 inches in diameter as prohibited 'carnival'-style signage, unless the display qualifies as an exempt reasonable seasonal decoration.

Key details: Size threshold: over 24 inches in diameter. Holiday exemption: reasonable seasonal decorations only. Removal deadline: promptly at end of season. Governing chapter: EMC 19.36, Signs.

No permit is needed for a qualifying seasonal inflatable, but an oversized inflatable left up after the holiday, or used for advertising, loses the exemption and becomes a prohibited sign subject to removal by the planning director.

The Bottom Line

Everett's sign regulations rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Everett is broadly strict or permissive.

Keep in mind that Everett can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.