Butte County, CA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Location requirement
- Same parcel as the business
- Distance limit
- Within 800 ft of SR 99/70 centerline
- Max area
- 100 sq ft one face / 200 two faces
- Max height (Commercial/Industrial)
- 40 ft
- Max height (Agriculture zone)
- 20 ft
- Signs allowed
- 1 per parcel
Summary
Butte County limits freeway signs to businesses serving the "freeway-motoring public." Section 24-106(A) requires the sign to sit on the same parcel as the business, within 800 feet of State Route 99 or State Route 70, and advertise a use like gas, food, or lodging. Commercial and industrial zones allow one 100-square-foot single-face sign up to 40 feet tall per parcel.
A.Freeway Signs. Freeway signs shall be permitted only if all of the following criteria are met:1.The sign is located on the same parcel as the business being advertised;2.The sign is located on a parcel that is located a maximum distance of eight hundred (800) feet from the centerline of State Route 99 and/or State Route 70 at its closest point; and3.The sign advertises a business that provides a service primarily for the freeway-motoring public, such as gas, food, or lodging.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
" Agriculture and Natural Resource zones allow the same one-per-parcel, 100/200-square-foot freeway sign under Table 24-105-3, but only to 20 feet in height, and only in the Agriculture zone. A freestanding, monument, freeway, or off-site sign taller than 42 inches also must keep 15 feet from any parcel line next to a residential zone and 14 feet from any intersection, driveway, or alley under Section 24-104(D). Freeway signs are not on the permit-exempt list in Section 24-101, so an Administrative Permit is required under Section 24-102(A), except that Section 24-102(E) upgrades that to a Minor Use Permit for any freeway sign proposed in an Agriculture zone.
Violations & Fines
A freeway sign built beyond the 800-foot Route 99/70 distance limit, oversized past the 100/200-square-foot and 40-foot (or 20-foot in Agriculture) caps of Sections 24-106(A) and the zone tables, or erected without the Administrative or Minor Use Permit required by Section 24-102, is enforceable under Section 24-5(F). Section 1-7 sets the general penalty at up to a $1,000 fine or six months' imprisonment, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close to the highway does my business have to be for a freeway sign?
How big can a freeway sign be in Butte County?
Is a freeway sign in an Agriculture zone handled differently?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Butte County
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