Lakewood, NJ Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Township of Lakewood UDO § 18-812B5 lists political signs among the Exempted Signs that do not need a sign permit from the Zoning Office. The exemption comes with three conditions written directly into the section: the sign cannot impede site visibility at any street or property line, it cannot exceed 32 square feet in area, and it can only go up within 30 days before a municipal, county, state or national election or referendum and must come down within seven days after that election or referendum.

Because political signs sit in the same Exempted Signs list as holiday decorations, memorial markers and temporary real estate signs, they still have to comply with the sight-triangle and traffic-safety rules that apply to every sign under § 18-812A, including the ban at § 18-812A6 on signs erected within the triangular clear-sight area at street intersections. The exemption applies township-wide in every zoning district; it is not limited to residential lots. Because political signs are content-based only by category (identifying them as election-related) rather than by viewpoint, and the size and timing limits are the only content-neutral conditions the ordinance imposes, the rule tracks the kind of narrowly-tailored, time-limited political sign window many New Jersey municipalities use around elections.