Olympia, WA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Where pole signs are permitted
- Freeway Corridor district and Auto Mall Sign Zone
- Freeway-adjacent uses
- Multifamily, shopping center, industrial complex only
- I-5 or US 101 frontage
- One pole sign per development
- Pole sign size, Business & Corridor Zone
- 200 sq ft, or 100 sq ft per side double sided
- Freeway Corridor height exception
- Twenty-five feet adjacent to the freeway
- Landscaping
- At least one-half of the sign's surface area
Summary
In the City of Olympia, Washington, pole signs are permitted only in the Freeway Corridor design review district and the Auto Mall Sign Zone. Next to I-5 or US Highway 101, a pole sign is limited to multifamily complexes, shopping centers, and industrial complexes, one per development, and it counts as one of the permitted freestanding signs.
N. Pole Signs. 1. Sign Structure - Pole signs are permitted in Freeway Corridor design review district and the Auto Mall Sign Zone. 2. Use limits - if property is adjacent to freeway, pole signs are limited to multifamily complexes, shopping centers, and industrial complexes. 3. For the purposes of calculating the number of permitted signs, pole signs are subject to the standards for freestanding signs, i.e., they are not in addition to the number of permitted freestanding signs but are considered one of the permitted freestanding signs. 4. All other sign standards in Freeway Corridor district are determined by the underlying zoning district.
Full Breakdown
OMC 18.43.070.N is the pole sign standard. Pole signs are permitted in the Freeway Corridor design review district and the Auto Mall Sign Zone. If the property is adjacent to the freeway, pole signs are limited to multifamily complexes, shopping centers, and industrial complexes. A pole sign is not an extra sign: it is one of the permitted freestanding signs, and every other sign standard in the Freeway Corridor district comes from the underlying zoning district.
The Business & Corridor Sign Zone repeats and sizes the allowance in OMC 18.43.120.B.1. Properties immediately adjacent to Interstate 5 or US Highway 101 can have one pole sign per development when the approved land use is a multifamily complex, shopping center, or industrial complex. These pole signs can be up to two hundred square feet, or one hundred square feet per side when double sided.
Height is set by the freestanding sign standard in OMC 18.43.070.K, where the base height is a 4 foot maximum. The exception covers secondary and above academic schools on sites over five acres and sites within the Freeway Corridor Overlay district: sixteen feet for uses on City street frontages and twenty-five feet for uses adjacent to the freeway. That exception also limits a use to one pole sign and a development to only one pole sign, and the pole sign must stand in a planter box or other landscaping covering a minimum of one-half of the surface area of the sign. Where a freestanding sign abuts a principal arterial with a right-of-way of eighty feet or less, the front yard setback is a minimum of five feet, and the owner must sign a legal document agreeing to pay for relocating the sign if the City acquires more right-of-way.
OMC 18.43.010 states that the chapter does not regulate signs within Highway 101 or Interstate 5 rights-of-way. Under OMC 18.43.120.B.5, internally illuminated or neon signs cannot directly face an adjacent residential district unless a right-of-way at least 60 feet wide separates them.
Violations & Fines
Violations of the sign chapter in the City of Olympia are enforced through OMC 18.73.010. A knowing violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or ninety days in jail, with each day a separate offense. Continuing violations carry up to $5,000 and 365 days. The civil infraction track runs $50, $125 and $250 for the first, second and third offenses, plus statutory assessments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any business near I-5 in Olympia put up a pole sign?
How big can a freeway pole sign be in the Business & Corridor Sign Zone?
How tall can a sign adjacent to the freeway be?
Does Olympia regulate signs inside the I-5 right-of-way itself?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Olympia
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