How Rialto Handles Sign Regulations: A Practical Guide

Rialto maintains 136 local ordinances across all categories, and 4 of those deal specifically with sign regulations. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Rialto falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Digital Billboards

Rialto prohibits flashing signs citywide, defined as any sign illuminated by lights that are intermittently on and off, that change intensity, or that create the illusion of motion, with the sole exception of time-and-temperature displays.

Key details: Governing sections: RMC 18.102.020(B)(6), 18.102.050(B). Flashing signs: Prohibited citywide, all zones. Sole exception: Time-and-temperature signs. Time/temp sign cap: 12 sq ft / 8 ft height. Enforcing agency: Police chief / code enforcement.

Displaying a flashing, intermittent, changing-intensity or illusion-of-motion sign anywhere in the city outside the narrow time-and-temperature exception violates Section 18.102.050(B) and is enforced as a zoning violation under the sign chapter's enforcement provisions in Section 18.102.050(E); illegal signs in the public right-of-way may be summarily abated and impounded pending payment of storage and removal charges.

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

Window Signs

In Rialto's commercial and industrial zones, window signs may not cover more than fifty percent of the window area on street-facing building elevations, or twenty-five percent on other elevations, though a permit-exempt window sign under three square feet is always allowed.

Key details: Governing sections: RMC 18.102.020(B)(25), 18.102.060(G)(5). Street-facing elevation cap: 50% of window area. Other elevation cap: 25% of window area. Permit-exempt threshold: 3 sq ft, ID info only. Applies to zones: A-P, C-1, C-1A, M-1, M-2, PID.

Window signage exceeding the fifty/twenty-five percent coverage caps in the applicable zone, or a permanent window sign over three square feet that hasn't gone through the sign permit process, is a zoning violation under RMC Chapter 18.102, enforced by the police chief or a designated code enforcement representative under Section 18.102.050(E).

Garage Sale Signs

On-site garage sale signs in Rialto are limited to two, each no larger than four square feet, posted only on the sale property itself. Off-site directional signs need the host property owner's consent and cannot exceed 864 square inches or four signs, and public property postings are banned outright.

Key details: On-site signs allowed: 2 signs max. On-site sign size limit: 4 sq ft each. Off-site directional signs: 4 signs max, 864 sq in each. Public property postings: Prohibited. Private directional signs: Require owner's consent.

Posting more than the allowed number or size of signs, or placing directional signs on public property or without landowner consent, is punishable as an infraction under RMC 5.69.110. A person who commits more than three violations of the same section within a year is guilty of a misdemeanor instead.

Freeway-Facing Signs

Rialto bans most freeway-facing signs except in the Rialto Gateway Specific Plan area along I-10, where multi-tenant freeway-oriented business signs get a special height and area allowance the rest of the city does not have.

Key details: Governing section: RMC 18.102.060(K). Eligible area: Rialto Gateway Specific Plan, north of I-10. Max business panels: Five per structure. Upper sign height cap: 100 feet above grade. Overall structure height cap: 120 feet above grade.

A freeway-oriented sign built without planning commission design approval, or one that exceeds the one-hundred/one-hundred-twenty-foot height caps or the one-thousand/five-hundred-square-foot area caps, is a zoning code violation subject to the same enforcement and permit-revocation authority the city applies to other unpermitted signage under Title 18. Community development can require removal or modification and withhold further permits until the structure conforms.

The Bottom Line

Rialto'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 Rialto is broadly strict or permissive.

This guide is based on Rialto's current municipal code. Local rules can and do change, so check the individual ordinance pages for the latest details, penalties, and FAQs.