Somerville, MA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Section 10.8.4 defines a category of exempt signs that fall entirely outside Article 10.8's commercial sign framework. Subsection (a)(vii) groups 'holiday signs or decorations, yard sale & garage sale signs' together as exempt, alongside political yard signs in (a)(viii) and works of art in (a)(ix). Because these signs are declared not to be commercial signs at all, none of the standards that apply to actual commercial signage attach to them: there is no size table like the 20 square-foot cap on real estate signs or the 30-day limit set for temporary banners and construction signs under §10.8.7, no development review under §10.8.3, and no removal deadline under §10.8.8. The exemption was adopted by Ord. 2024-14, effective November 26, 2024, as part of a full rewrite of the city's sign ordinance. The carve-out reflects the ordinance's stated purpose in §10.8.1(a) of regulating commercial signage while leaving informal, non-commercial neighborhood signage like a garage sale notice untouched.