East Orange, NJ Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

East Orange's Zoning Code, Chapter 51, Article XXV, Signs, lists prohibited sign types in § 51-167. Subsection H targets sale signs directly: signs advertising garage sales, yard sales, rummage sales, flea markets or similar activities are banned citywide, in every zoning district, with a single carve-out, one sign per property for no more than 14 days. Anything beyond that, a second sign, a sign left up longer, or a sign advertising a sale on a different property, falls back into the flat prohibition. The same article's general provisions in § 51-166 reinforce the temporary nature of this kind of signage: § 51-166.C requires that signs pertaining to a business or activity be removed from public view once that activity ends, with responsibility for removal resting on the property owner of record per the latest tax roll. § 51-166.F additionally bars reflective, neon or iridescent paint on any sign, and § 51-166.G requires a cracked, corroded or otherwise unreadable sign to be repaired or removed.

Chapter 51's Transit Village District (Brick Church area) carries an identical one-sign, 14-day rule at § 51-115.B(8) for that special zoning area, so the standard is consistent whether a resident lives near the train station overlay or elsewhere in the city. Because Article XXV sets no sign-specific fine, an oversized or overdue garage-sale sign is enforced as a general Code violation under § 1-15: a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $2,000, imprisonment up to 90 days, community service up to 90 days, or a combination, with each day of a continuing violation potentially charged separately at the court's discretion.