Springfield, OR Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

SMC section 8.234 lists signs and operations the building official allows without a sign permit, provided they follow the listed standards, and election signs sit under subsection (5), Exempt Temporary or Small Signs. That subsection bars tacking, nailing, pasting, gluing or otherwise attaching any exempt sign to a tree, utility or light pole, or a fence the sign owner does not own. Within that limit, subsection (5)(a) separately allows a small sign of up to three square feet on a property at any time, while (5)(b) is the specific election-sign rule: a temporary sign up to 32 square feet per face for federal, state, or local candidate or ballot-measure races affecting the property's district, running from 90 days before the election through 5 days after it.

Springfield's general prohibited-sign rule in section 8.236(8) separately bars any sign in the public right-of-way without government authorization, so a campaign sign has to sit on private property rather than a street median or public sidewalk strip. A sign that exceeds the 32-square-foot cap or the timing window loses its exemption and needs a standard permit under section 8.218, or the applicant can seek a size modification (up to 15 percent over the limit) or a full variance under section 8.238, decided by the director within 30 days and appealable to the city manager, then the city council, within 15 days at each step. Sign enforcement citywide, including sections 8.200 to 8.268, runs through the civil infraction system in SMC sections 5.604 and 5.624.