Newark, OH Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Section 1294.11(d) of the Newark Code of Ordinances treats an inflatable structure as a temporary sign: a structure inflated with air or gas that rests on the ground or another structure, or floats in the air and is affixed to the ground or a structure. Subsection (d)(3)F carves out holiday decorations. They are permitted in OBCI and R-Districts without a permit, with no time limitation, so a holiday inflatable in a residential yard needs no approval letter and has no printed removal date.

Commercial and promotional inflatables follow a stricter track. Before installation, the property owner, tenant, or a representative of either must obtain an approval letter from the Zoning Inspector. No more than two approval letters are issued in a calendar year to a given address or business location, with a minimum of ninety days between letters, and the letter must be displayed on the same property and be visible from the street. The inflatable must be removed within fourteen days of placement.

Subsection (d)(3)B bars those inflatables from R-Districts altogether. In OBCI Districts they must sit at least twenty feet back from the improved road surface, and they must be affixed at a location where a fall would not land on an improved road surface or public right-of-way. They must comply with the sign height limitation of the district, although the size of the structure is not limited. They cannot have flashing, blinking, intermittent or moving lights, and they cannot interfere with traffic visibility.

The Zoning Inspector enforces the section. After written notification to the property owner, tenant, or a representative of either, the Inspector is authorized to remove an inflatable structure that violates the Code. On a vacant lot no notification is necessary, and personal service on the owner, tenant or employee at the premises satisfies the notice requirement. Under § 1294.11(a)(7), temporary signs as defined in the code are not subject to fees.