Aliso Viejo, CA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

In the City of Aliso Viejo, California, item 20 of § 15.34.170(A) of the Aliso Viejo Municipal Code prohibits off-site garage or yard sale signs, circulars, posters or other such signs or displays unless permitted by a special event permit pursuant to Chapter 11.05 AVMC. Chapter 15.34 prints no other garage sale sign allowance, so the special event permit is the only stated exception for off-site signs.

Several neighboring rules close off the usual shortcuts. Item 3 of § 15.34.170(A) prohibits any sign that encroaches on public property or a public right-of-way, which covers street corners and medians. Item 1 prohibits any off-premises sign, and item 22 prohibits portable and sandwich board signs, including A-frames, unless approved as part of a master sign program, and in no event can they be visible from a public right-of-way. Item 14 bans balloons, kites, streamers and similar advertising devices. Section 15.34.060(B) bars placing a sign on another person's property without the owner's express written approval and requires removal promptly on request of the owner or occupant.

The special event permit comes from Chapter 11.05. Under § 11.05.060(B), a completed application for a special event is filed not less than 90 calendar days before the opening date, with the city manager or the department the city manager designates. The permit is not transferable to another venue or applicant under § 11.05.030(D). Section 11.05.040(A) separately exempts an event conducted on residential property in a residential zone from the special event permit requirement so long as it conforms to the rest of the code. The code prints both rules and does not reconcile them for garage sale signs, so the planning director's office is the place to confirm the permit route for an off-site sign.

The code does give a detailed allowance to a different kind of sign. Temporary off-site open house directional signs are permitted in residential districts under § 15.34.150(C)(2), with limits of 4 square feet, 3 feet in height, 6 signs per event, posting no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and removal no later than sunset. That allowance is written for open houses, not garage sales.

A prohibited sign in the right-of-way can be removed by the director or a code enforcement officer and held at City Hall for not less than three working days under § 15.34.040(C).