Miramar's Sign Regulations: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles sign regulations a little differently. In Miramar, Florida, there are 6 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Window Signs

Miramar caps window signage at 25 percent of a storefront's total window area under LDC Sec. 1007. Vinyl appliqué letters are the only permitted window sign type, and letters cannot exceed eight inches tall.

Key details: Coverage limit: 25% of total window area. Permitted material: Vinyl appliqué letters only. Max letter height: 8 inches. Neon window sign cap: 1 sq. ft. per storefront. Governing chapter: LDC Chapter 10, Sec. 1007.

A window display exceeding the 25 percent coverage cap, using non-appliqué materials such as painted lettering, banners, or backlit panels, or featuring letters over eight inches tall is a sign code violation subject to the city's standard sign enforcement and removal process administered through the Development Services Department; noncompliant signage must be corrected or removed to bring the storefront back within the permitted coverage and format limits.

Garage Sale Signs

Miramar exempts yard and garage sale signs from a separate sign permit, but the Land Development Code still caps the display: up to two signs per dwelling, each no larger than six square feet and three feet tall, set back five feet from the right-of-way. Signs go up one day before the sale and come down the same day it ends.

Key details: Signs allowed per dwelling: Up to two. Max sign area: 6 sq ft, excluding posts. Max height: 3 feet including post. Setback: 5 feet from public right-of-way. Posting window: 1 day before sale; removed same day.

Sign code violations, an oversized, early-posted, or overdue yard sale sign, run through the city's special magistrate under LDC § 1012.3: a $25 first notice, $50 second notice, $100 third notice and $500 fourth notice, each spaced at least 15 days apart. After a fourth notice the city can keep assessing at the $500 rate or remove the sign itself and bill the property owner. Holding a garage sale without the § 11-82 permit is a separate code violation.

Freeway-Facing Signs

Miramar bans billboards and off-premises signage on every roadway in the city except two corridors: the Florida Turnpike and Interstate 75. LDC § 1014 defines those as the only 'major expressways' where a billboard, always in digital form, may be located, and even there the sign must sit on a parcel contiguous to the expressway itself.

Key details: Billboards: Banned on all roadways except two. Permitted corridors: Florida Turnpike and Interstate 75. Location test: Parcel must be contiguous to expressway. Allowed zoning: B2, B3, OP, EC, MU, PID, PUD, U. Orientation: Must face expressway or 6+ lane connector.

A billboard erected off a major expressway parcel, or on a non-contiguous property, does not meet LDC § 1014's threshold eligibility test and cannot receive site plan approval from the Community Development Department. An unpermitted billboard is enforced as a sign code violation under § 1012.3's $25/$50/$100/$500 escalating notice schedule, with the city authorized to remove it and bill the property owner after the fourth notice.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Miramar actively enforces its freeway-facing signs requirements.

Digital Billboards

Miramar allows billboards only as digital billboards, and only along the Florida Turnpike or I-75 corridors, under LDC § 1014. Structures top out at 50 feet, sign faces cap at 14 by 48 feet (672 square feet), no more than two structures per property, and each requires Community Development Department site plan approval before it can be built.

Key details: Location: Digital billboards only, contiguous to I-75/FL Turnpike. Max structures per property: 2. Max sign face: 14' x 48' (672 sq ft). Max structure height: 50 feet. Spacing from other billboards: 1,500 feet.

Digital billboards erected without the required site plan approval, or that exceed the height, size, setback or spacing standards of LDC § 1014.3, are sign code violations enforced under § 1012.3's escalating notice schedule: $25, $50, $100, then $500, spaced at least 15 days apart, before a special magistrate, with the city able to remove a noncompliant structure at the owner's expense after the fourth notice.

Compared to other cities, Miramar takes a harder line on digital billboards. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Holiday Displays

Miramar caps how long holiday lights and decorations can stay up on a property. Under City Code Section 10-124(16), part of the exterior property maintenance article, displays are permitted only during the thirty days before and thirty days after the relevant holiday, after which they count as an exterior maintenance violation enforceable by code compliance.

Key details: Governing provision: City Code § 10-124(16). Display window: 30 days before to 30 days after the holiday. Article: Ch. 10, Art. VII, Property Maintenance. Enforcement process: Code enforcement notice-and-correction, § 10-129. Adopting ordinance: Ord. No. 91-33, amended Ord. No. 98-37.

Because Section 10-124 falls under the property maintenance article rather than the general penalty chapter, the primary enforcement path is the code enforcement officer's notice-and-correction process in Section 10-129, backed by the city's supplemental code enforcement board procedures under F.S. § 162.21, which can impose ongoing fines until the display is removed. Independent of that track, the city's general penalty, Section 1-13, still authorizes a fine up to $500.00 or up to sixty days' imprisonment for a Code violation.

The rules around holiday displays in Miramar lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Political Signs

Miramar treats political signs as exempt from a sign permit but still regulates them closely. LDC § 1010 caps private-property political signage at 48 square feet per candidate or issue per parcel, bars posting on utility poles, public property, rights-of-way or sight triangles, and brackets the season: no earlier than 90 days before the election, removed within 7 days after.

Key details: Permit needed: None, exempt sign under § 1010. Max size: 48 sq ft per candidate/issue per parcel. Posting window: Up to 90 days before election. Removal deadline: Within 7 days after election. Banned locations: Utility poles, ROW, public property, sight triangles.

Political sign violations, an oversized sign, one on a utility pole or in a right-of-way, or one left up past the seven-day post-election deadline, run through LDC § 1012.3's escalating notice schedule: $25 first notice, $50 second, $100 third, $500 fourth, each spaced at least 15 days apart before a special magistrate. Any unauthorized sign on public property is also subject to immediate confiscation and removal under LDC § 1011.1.

The Bottom Line

Miramar is tougher than many cities when it comes to sign regulations. Out of the 6 rules covered here, 2 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Miramar, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

Keep in mind that Miramar 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.