How Orem Handles Sign Regulations: A Practical Guide

Orem maintains 119 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 Orem falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Digital Billboards

Billboards are banned everywhere in Orem, with only a handful of grandfathered signs surviving under Orem City Code 14-3-3, so a freestanding digital billboard has no path to approval. Electronic Message Center (EMC) signs, the technology used for digital displays, are allowed only as part of an existing monument, pole or wall sign, or a legal nonconforming billboard, and each still needs a sign permit, allows motion but not flashing, and caps brightness at 0.3 lumens above ambient light.

Key details: Billboards: Banned citywide except grandfathered signs. EMC sign permit: Required, no exception. Brightness cap: 0.3 lumens above ambient light. Motion vs flashing: Motion allowed; flashing prohibited. EMC mounting: Monument, pole, wall or legal billboard only.

Erecting a new freestanding billboard in Orem, digital or static, violates the flat ban in 14-3-3; adding EMC technology does not cure that, since EMC signs are lawful only on an existing monument, pole, wall or legal nonconforming billboard sign. Retrofitting EMC technology onto a billboard on the east side of I-15 within 500 feet of the interstate violates Section 22-14-29. Flashing effects or brightness above 0.3 lumens over ambient light on any EMC sign is a separate violation, and a nonconforming billboard left unrebuilt more than a year loses its reconstruction rights.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Orem actively enforces its digital billboards requirements.

Freeway-Facing Signs

Along 1200 West and Sandhill Road, Orem's Sign Zone E bars freestanding pole signs from facing the freeway unless the business caters to travelers and sits within 660 feet of an I-15 interchange. Qualifying signs must be set back a distance equal to their own height and follow Sign Zone A's size and height table.

Key details: Orientation limit: No freeway-facing pole signs on 1200 W/Sandhill Rd. Traveling-public exception: Within 660 ft of an I-15 interchange. Setback: Equal to the sign's own height. Max height: 35 ft, or 25 ft above I-15 grade. Max fine: $750/day, Sec. 14-1-7.

An oversized, misoriented, or improperly set-back freestanding sign in Sign Zone E is a Chapter 14 sign-code violation. Under Section 14-1-7 it is charged as an infraction with a fine of up to $750, and each day the nonconforming sign remains standing is a separate offense; a sign erected without the required permit can also be ordered corrected or removed by the City.

Window Signs

Orem lets businesses cover up to 80% of any window's total transparent area with signage, no City permit needed. The rule applies to window signs in the C1, C2, C3, M1, M2, HS, BP, commercial PD, and State Street District zones under Section 14-3-3.

Key details: Coverage limit: 80% of a window's transparent area. Permit: None required. Zones: C1, C2, C3, M1, M2, HS, BP, PD. Max fine: $750/day if exceeded, Sec. 14-1-7.

Exceeding the 80 percent coverage limit is enforced the same as any other Chapter 14 sign violation: an infraction under Section 14-1-7 carrying a fine of up to $750, with every day the overcovered window remains that way counted as a new offense. Because window signs need no permit, the City has no proactive approval step to catch an overage before it goes up, so enforcement is complaint- or inspection-driven.

Political Signs

Orem has no separate political-sign permit. Political signs are noncommercial signs under Chapter 14: no permit needed, but each sign is capped at 6 feet tall and 32 square feet, with a 96-square-foot total per parcel, and illegally placed or oversized signs can be ordered removed.

Key details: Permit needed: No permit for noncommercial/political signs. Max height: 6 feet (freestanding). Max size per sign: 32 square feet. Max total per parcel: 96 square feet. Fine for violation: Up to $750 per day (infraction).

Section 14-1-7, Penalties, makes violating any provision of Chapter 14, including the noncommercial sign size and height limits that govern political signs, an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $750, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense. Before the City removes or orders alteration of a sign, the owner may appeal to the Board of Adjustment within ten calendar days under Section 14-1-6, unless the sign presents an immediate or serious danger to the public, in which case the City may act at once.

Garage Sale Signs

Orem allows garage-sale signs as a type of accessory residential sign under City Code Section 14-3-3: no permit is needed, but each sign is capped at six feet in height (unless mounted to a fence or wall) and six square feet in area, and no more than two such signs may go up per parcel. Section 22-14-28 requires all garage-sale signage to meet these limits.

Key details: Permit: Not required for accessory residential signs. Max sign height: 6 ft (fence/wall-mounted signs excepted). Max sign area: 6 square feet. Max signs per parcel: 2 bearing a commercial message. Sale frequency: 2 garage sales per calendar year.

Orem City Code Section 22-14-28 makes noncompliance a zoning violation: "Garage sales that do not comply with the above requirements are not permitted, and any person conducting a sale in violation of the above requirements shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Section 22-1-6 of the Orem City Code." That covers running a third sale in a year, keeping a sale open past three days, or posting a sign taller than six feet, larger than six square feet, or a third sign on the lot. Code Enforcement handles complaints and can order an oversized or extra sign removed.

The Bottom Line

Orem'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 Orem is broadly strict or permissive.

All of the above reflects Orem's municipal code as of our last review. If you need specifics on fines, exemptions, or filing requirements, the detailed ordinance pages linked above have the full breakdown.