Newton, MA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Sec. 5.2.5 lists prohibited signs, and item (D) bars any window sign covering more than 25 percent of the window's area, applying citywide regardless of building use. Sec. 5.2.6(A) then lists signs "allowed by right without the necessity of sign review, but may require a building permit," and item 6 confirms window signs in nonresidential buildings are permitted up to that same 25 percent ceiling. Read together, the two provisions set one bright-line rule: a window sign in a nonresidential building can cover up to a quarter of the glass without sign review, while anything past that quarter is prohibited outright everywhere in the city, including on residential buildings where the by-right allowance does not apply at all. Illuminated window signs also have to satisfy the separate lighting rules of Sec. 5.2.10, including the citywide ban on flashing or blinking sign lights and the curfew barring illumination between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. except for limited business-hours exceptions.