Chino Hills, CA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

CHMC § 16.38.037 sets Chino Hills' window-sign rule for every non-residential use in the city. Subsection A caps window signage at twenty-five percent of the window area of a commercial establishment, defining window area as the transparent area of all of a business's exterior windows and doors. The rule reaches beyond signs stuck to the glass: indoor signs and displays located within three feet of a window or door, and oriented so they are visible from outside, count as window signage under the same twenty-five percent cap.

Subsection B protects sightlines into the business, requiring that window signs not unreasonably block visibility into public areas like lobbies or queuing areas. Subsection C allows windows over genuinely private areas, offices, exam rooms, seating adjacent to windows, or equipment and prep areas, to be obscured, but that obscured glass still counts toward the twenty-five percent cap if it is used for advertising. Illumination gets a separate, tighter limit: subsection D allows up to an aggregate of four square feet of window signage to be steadily illuminated with neon, LED, or an equivalent system, but bans using illumination to outline a door or window frame, and bans any sign or illumination system that flashes, changes color, changes intensity, or is otherwise animated. Subsection E carves out up to five square feet for flyers posted by residents and non-profits, which does not count toward the twenty-five percent limit at all.