Santa Maria, CA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Santa Maria's sign code, Chapter 12-34, does not carve out a separate category for campaign or political signage. 03 defines Temporary Sign as any sign built of expendable material such as paper, plastic, cloth or wood and intended for short-term display, and states directly that temporary signs may serve many functions such as grand opening signs or political signs. 05(d). A temporary sign, political or otherwise, requires a sign permit, is allowed in every zoning district in the City from R-1 residential through the M-2 industrial district, and is capped in size by a sliding ratio tied to building frontage: 32 square feet of sign area per 75 feet of commercial or industrial building width, or six square feet per 75 feet of width in residential zones.

Display time is capped too: a temporary sign can be up for up to two 30-consecutive-day periods within any six-month window, but never more than 120 display days within a 12-month period, and the applicant must specify the exact dates on the permit application. A property is limited to a maximum of two temporary signs at once, and temporary signage doesn't count against the parcel's separate permanent sign area allowance. 07(a)(4) does require that permit decisions shall not be based on the content of the signage, so the City can't approve or deny a temporary sign permit because of what a political sign says, but the permit, size, and duration mechanics themselves apply uniformly.