Framingham, MA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

The sign ordinance's general wall-sign rule limits most Framingham businesses to a single wall sign for a street frontage, two if the lot sits on a corner at the intersection of two public streets, and letter height that scales with the building's setback from the street under the Chart 1 table. § 373-10B(1)(f) sets a distinct, additional allowance for the corridor along Interstate 90, the Massachusetts Turnpike: buildings in the 'M' (General Manufacturing), 'M-1' (Light Manufacturing) and 'TP' (Technology Park) Districts used for office, research and development, or manufacturing purposes may add one wall sign beyond whatever the standard rules already allow, with individual letters as tall as six feet, provided the sign is primarily viewed from Interstate 90.

The subsection caps the benefit at one such highway-facing sign per building, no matter how many businesses occupy it or how much frontage the building has along the highway itself. Because the sign counts as a wall sign, it still has to meet the chapter's other wall-sign standards: it cannot project more than 14 inches from the building surface, and it cannot extend beyond the building's roofline, cornice or trim. A manufacturing or research and development building along the Pike corridor that wants a highway-facing identification sign still applies through the standard sign-permit process administered by the Building Department, and the Historic District Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals gets no separate role unless the parcel also sits in a historic district or needs a variance from another part of the chapter.