Issaquah, WA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Issaquah defines a garage sale sign as a temporary sign advertising the sale of personal property used to dispose of personal household possessions, including sample sales. Yard sale, moving sale and patio sale signs fall under the same definition, and the code says the signs are not for the use of any commercial venture. Table 18.612.110(G)(2) of the Land Use Code allows them in all zones which include a residential use, and the permitted location is the right-of-way.

Each garage sale gets a maximum of 4 signs in total. Every one must be a stake or wire frame sign, the only type the code allows, with a face of no more than 4 square feet, no more than 2 sign faces per sign and a height of no more than 4 feet. The table lists a temporary sign agreement as not required, so there is no City sign number to obtain or display for these signs.

Duration is capped at three days. The code says signs may only be present for up to three days, associated with the sale, to assist with advertising and direction.

Placement follows the temporary commercial sign standards in 18.612.100(A)(7), which the garage sale subsection cross-references. Under those standards a sign must stay out of the sight distance triangle of intersections and driveways, ten feet from any driveway, alley or vehicle access point, two feet behind any curb or roadway edge, two feet from any pedestrian sidewalk or ADA accessible path, and five feet from any building access point if the sign is not attached to the building. A sign cannot obstruct pedestrian or accessible routes or encroach into the minimum clear pathway of 48 inches in width, and it cannot interfere with the opening of car doors, bicycle parking, bus stops or loading zones. The sign must remain portable: it cannot be attached or anchored to trees or to public property such as utility or light poles, parking meters or pavement, and signs are prohibited in medians, roundabouts, traffic circles, traffic poles and signals, and street trees. The City Traffic Engineer decides whether a sign creates a hazard to pedestrians or motorists.