Madera, CA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- What is banned
- Signs facing landscaped freeways
- Removal deadline
- 1 year after landscaping completed
- On-site sale signs
- Exempt under § 9-5.104
- Separate chapter
- General signs at Title X Ch. 6
- Origin
- Ord. 285 N.S. ('61 Code)
Summary
Madera bans any advertising structure or sign on property next to a landscaped freeway if it is designed to be viewed primarily by freeway travelers, with narrow exceptions for on-site sale, occupant identification, or on-site goods signs.
No advertising structure or sign shall be placed or maintained on property adjacent to a section of freeway which has been or hereafter may be landscaped if the advertising display or sign is designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling on such landscaped section of a freeway. ... Any advertising structure or sign which is or shall be in violation of the provisions of § 9-5.102 of this subchapter shall be removed within one year from the date when the project for the landscaping of the particular section of a freeway shall have been completed or accepted
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2024 S-50: Current through Ordinance 1010 C.S., passed 6-5-24).
Full Breakdown
102, part of the Title IX Chapter 5 'Freeway Structures' subchapter, prohibits placing or maintaining any advertising structure or sign on property adjacent to a section of freeway that has been or will be landscaped, if the display is designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling on that landscaped freeway section. 101. 103. 104 exempts signs used exclusively to advertise the sale or lease of the property on which they are placed, to identify the owner or occupant of the premises, or to advertise goods manufactured, produced or sold, or services rendered, on that same property. under the prior '61 Code numbering, carried forward unchanged into the current code.
Violations & Fines
A prohibited freeway-facing advertising structure that is not removed within one year of the freeway section being landscaped remains a code violation under § 9-5.103, subject to enforcement by the city; the only defenses are the narrow on-site sale, occupant-identification, or on-site goods exceptions in § 9-5.104.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put an advertising sign facing a landscaped freeway in Madera?
What signs are exempt from the freeway sign ban?
How long do I have to remove a nonconforming freeway sign?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madera
California rules heatmap·Compare Madera to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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