Santa Maria, CA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- SMMC Chapter 9-64
- Core prohibition
- No off-site ads facing landscaped freeway sections
- On-premise exceptions
- Sale/lease, owner ID, on-site business ads
- Removal deadline
- 3 years from landscaping/reclassification
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor (§ 9-64.050)
Summary
Santa Maria bars off-site advertising displays on property next to any landscaped section of freeway under Municipal Code Chapter 9-64, matching California's landscaped-freeway advertising controls. On-premise signs identifying the property, owner, or business stay legal.
No advertising displays shall be placed or maintained on property adjacent to a Section of freeway which has been or may be landscaped as defined in Section 9-64.010. If the advertising display is designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling on such landscaped Section of a freeway.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4818069; v9 updated 2026-04-07).
Full Breakdown
010, when the display is designed to be viewed primarily by freeway travelers. "Advertising display" covers both advertising structures and signs of any material placed for outdoor advertising purposes. 030 carves out three exceptions used exclusively to advertise the sale or lease of the property where the display sits, to identify the owner or occupant, or to advertise the business, goods, or services conducted on that property, so legitimate on-premise business signage is unaffected. 040. 050 makes any violation of the chapter a misdemeanor. The chapter tracks the state Outdoor Advertising Act's landscaped-freeway restrictions, and "landscaped freeway" is defined by reference to the Streets and Highways Code as a freeway section improved on at least one side of the right-of-way with lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, or other ornamental vegetation requiring reasonable maintenance.
Violations & Fines
Placing or keeping a prohibited off-site advertising display on land next to a landscaped freeway section is a misdemeanor under Section 9-64.050. A legally erected but now-nonconforming display must be removed within the three-year window set by Section 9-64.040 or it becomes a continuing violation subject to the same misdemeanor exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put an off-site billboard facing a landscaped Santa Maria freeway?
Can my own business sign face the freeway?
What happens to an existing sign after a freeway gets landscaped?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Maria
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Maria to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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