Story County, IA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

02. Those standards vary by zoning district. In the AR Agricultural-Residential, R-1 Transitional Residential, R-2 Urban Residential and RMH Residential Manufactured Housing districts, where most home businesses sit, total cumulative external sign area on a lot cannot exceed 12 square feet, though a permanent sign marking a subdivision entry can go up to 40 square feet. External signs in these districts cannot exceed 10 feet in height, and no external or internal sign may be illuminated; there is no cap on internal sign area. Portable signs are banned outright in every base district, including the A-1 Agricultural and A-2 Agribusiness districts, where the cumulative external sign area limit is 32 square feet and the height limit is 20 feet.

01(2)(E), a home business that qualifies for the no-permit exemption because it stays under the traffic and parking thresholds is barred from any signage or other discernible evidence of the operation at all. Sign area is computed from the writing, emblem or display together with its background, and any building sign that projects more than six inches from the wall must clear at least 12 feet above average ground level.