Ashwaubenon, WI Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 17-6-200(I)(3)(a)(iv) treats window signage differently from the Village's other sign categories: a small window sign needs no standalone sign permit, but once a sign covers more than 30 percent of a window's transparent area, the property owner must get approval from both the Zoning Administrator or designee and the Site Plan Review Committee before installing it. That approval is granted case by case. Section 17-6-200(I)(3)(a)(iv)(1) is explicit that approving one oversized window sign is not a precedent that entitles any other property, or even the same property later, to the same treatment; each request stands on its own facts.

The ordinance also sets a measurement rule for signs made of individual letters or symbols applied straight to the glass: § 17-6-200(I)(3)(a)(iv)(2) measures those by the smallest rectangle that can enclose the lettering or symbols, the same approach used for wall signs elsewhere in the chapter, rather than counting the whole window as sign area. A hard ceiling applies regardless of the permit question: § 17-6-200(I)(3)(a)(iv)(3) bars any sign not otherwise regulated elsewhere in the sign chapter or code of ordinances from covering 50 percent or more of a window, so a business cannot paper over half a storefront window even with signage the Village would otherwise approve. Window signs sit within the chapter's broader sign-area and sign-review framework in § 17-6-200(D), which requires the Zoning Administrator to assess configuration, design and materials for signage generally.