San Marcos, CA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

090 lists categories of signage that are prohibited citywide unless another part of the chapter expressly allows them, and subsection F singles out the State Route 78 view corridor for a location-specific ban. 060(B)(5)(c): the paper-, cloth-, or window-painted temporary signs otherwise allowed in commercial and industrial zones for up to 25 percent of window area and up to 60 days a year. Businesses that front the SR-78 corridor lose that temporary window-sign option specifically because the code treats the freeway view as a protected visual corridor, distinct from the general commercial sign rules.

The one exception written into the subsection covers "parking lot sales authorized under this Zoning Ordinance," meaning a properly permitted parking-lot sale event can still use the otherwise-prohibited signage. 060. 090 frames every listed item as an outright prohibition rather than a permit category, a business cannot apply for a variance from the Director to place the banned temporary window signage inside the corridor; the only path back to using it is the parking-lot-sale exception or moving the sign outside the mapped corridor boundary.