Lakewood, CO Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Article 9's exempt-signs section opens by explaining why window signs skip the permit process: exempt signage has "minimal impact on the public, do not create traffic, safety or other hazards, are temporary in nature, or constitute a unique medium" and so "may be erected in any zone district without a sign permit, subject to the standards below," per § 17.9.2.2's opening paragraph. That's a real exemption from the review procedure applied to permitted signs under § 17.2.13, but it comes with binding limits, not a free pass.

Subsection K sets three of them. First, "window signs shall not exceed 25 percent of the area of first floor windows on which it is located, unless otherwise approved by the Director," so the cap applies per window rather than to the building's total glazing, and the Director can approve more. Second, "window signs shall not be allowed in windows above the first floor of the building," closing off upper-story storefront advertising entirely. Third, window signs "shall not be Illuminated or have illumination directed at windows with window signs," banning both internally lit signs and external spotlighting aimed at one.

The exemption doesn't excuse a window sign from the general standards § 17.9.2.2's opening paragraph applies to every exempt sign: it still can't interfere with the safe operation of a vehicle, impede the flow of traffic, interfere with public safety, or obscure a public sign or facility. Nearby prohibited-sign rules also apply around it: § 17.9.2.3(A) bars pennants, streamers and wind signs, and § 17.9.2.3(F) bars any sign painted directly on a fence, neither of which qualifies as a window sign under this subsection.