Coeur d'Alene, ID Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Two layers apply to a home business sign in the City of Coeur d'Alene. The first is the home occupation certificate under Title 17. Every home occupation in the City needs one, the City issues it on request once the conditions in §§ 17.06.720 and 17.06.725 are met, the application form asks about signage, and the fee is set by City Council resolution (§ 17.06.715). Section 17.06.720(E) then limits the sign itself: there shall be no signs other than those permitted in the applicable zoning district.

The second layer is the Sign Code in Chapter 15.50. Section 15.50.120(A) requires a City-issued permit for every Sign unless the Sign Code exempts it, and the exemption list in § 15.50.310 does not name home occupation signs. The application is written, signed under oath, and describes the Sign's size, Sign Area, height, construction, lighting, and location (§ 15.50.300). The City Clerk or designee issues the permit once the application is complete, the fee set by resolution is paid, and the Sign complies, and a permit becomes void if work has not started within 180 days (§ 15.50.330). Each sign needs its own permit (§ 15.50.350).

Placement limits in § 15.50.120 apply to every home business sign. Signs are barred from public property, the public right-of-way, and the vision triangle, which is measured forty feet (40') along each roadway from the intersection of the edges of two adjacent roadways. No sign can go on a tree, utility pole, retaining wall, or fence the sign owner does not own, or where it obstructs a door, window, or fire escape. The property owner, permit applicant, and Sign owner are jointly responsible for compliance, and § 15.50.500 requires every sign to be kept neat, clean, attractive, and safe.

A noncommercial sign on a residential lot is a separate track: no permit, one (1) per lot, and eight (8) square feet maximum (§ 15.50.310(A)(8)). The zoning definitions also bar a homestay in a residential area from posting a sign larger than the home occupation regulations allow (§ 17.02.035).