Bowling Green, KY Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Garage- and yard-sale signs fall under the temporary-sign provisions of Article 4 of the Warren County / Bowling Green Joint Zoning Ordinance. The same content-neutral framework that governs campaign signs applies: all temporary signs are prohibited in any city right-of-way or utility easement, on trees or shrubs, on telephone or utility poles, on traffic signs or signals, and on any public property. Garage-sale signs may be placed on the private property where the sale occurs, with the property owner's permission. They count toward the residential temporary-sign cap — up to 10 signs at a maximum of 8 square feet each on residential parcels under 2 acres, or 16 square feet on residential parcels of 2 acres or more. Off-premise directional signs in the right-of-way are subject to removal and disposal by City of Bowling Green Code Compliance & Animal Protection staff (270-393-3102) without prior notice. The city does not require a permit for garage-sale signs and does not require a separate permit for a garage sale itself, but the sign caps and right-of-way prohibition are enforced as zoning violations under Chapter 27 procedures. The city's sidewalk-obstruction rule (City Code 21-1.02) further requires that no sign or other obstruction be allowed to block any sidewalk or right-of-way adjacent to a building or lot, except for temporary obstructions removed within 24 hours.