Santa Ana, CA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Sign posting window
- 1 week before sale through 1 day after
- Prohibited surfaces
- Telephone poles, streetlights, traffic signs, public right-of-way structures
- Governing section
- Santa Ana Municipal Code § 41-193(5)
- General penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine, 6 months jail
- Enforcing agency
- Planning and building agency / code enforcement inspectors
Summary
Santa Ana bans garage sale signs on telephone poles, streetlights, traffic signs, and any other structure in the public right-of-way under City Code § 41-193(5). Signs may go up no earlier than one week before the sale's first day and must come down within one day after the sale ends.
Garage sale advertising signs may not be posted on telephone poles, streetlights, traffic signs, or any other structure in the public right-of-way. Such signs may not be posted anywhere earlier than one (1) week prior to the first date of the garage sale nor more than one (1) day after the last date of the garage sale.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32).
Full Breakdown
Section 41-193 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code regulates garage sales citywide, and subsection (5) singles out advertising signs: signs may not be posted on public right-of-way structures, and may not go up earlier than one week before the sale's first day or stay up more than one day after it ends. and barred from sidewalks, parkways, streets or alleys. A sign posted for a sale outside that calendar, or left up past the one-day grace period, violates the section on its own even if the sign's location would otherwise be fine.
1, which authorizes the executive director, planning manager, building safety manager, community preservation inspectors and code enforcement inspectors to enforce Chapter 41 citywide, including issuing notices to appear. 9 as an alternative to criminal prosecution. Each day a sign remains posted in violation is a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Signs posted on public right-of-way structures, put up more than a week early, or left up more than a day after the sale ends violate § 41-193(5). Because the section sets no specific fine, section 1-8's general penalty applies: a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, chargeable as an infraction at the city attorney's discretion, or an administrative citation under sections 1-21.1-1-21.9. Each day of a lingering sign is a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Ana
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