Kootenai County, ID Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Commercial/industrial cap
- 30% of wall face
- Alternate cap
- 50% if unlit, no pole sign
- Ag/rural/residential cap
- 8 sq. ft., unlit only
- Variance path
- LUDC § 8.4.806
- Appeal path
- LUDC § 8.4.807 / article 8.5
- Schools/churches
- may use commercial rule anywhere
Summary
Unincorporated Kootenai County caps window, wall, awning and canopy signs by zone. Commercial, light industrial and industrial parcels may cover up to 30% of the wall face, rising to 50% if the sign stays unlit and no pole sign stands on the lot. Agricultural, rural and residential zones cap the same sign types at 8 square feet and bar illumination entirely.
3. Wall, awning, canopy or window signs, providing the signs do not cover more than thirty percent (30%) of the wall to which they are attached or inscribed. Wall, awning and canopy signs may be illuminated in conformance with the requirements of this section and may include an electronic message center. As an alternative, the size of these signs may be increased to fifty percent (50%) of the wall if a pole sign is not constructed on the parcel, and the signs are not internally lit (though indirect lighting is permitted). ... 2. One wall, awning, canopy, projecting or window sign providing it does not exceed eight (8) square feet in size. This sign may not be illuminated.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-10: Code current through: Ord. 633, passed December 23, 2025).
Full Breakdown
8 sets the sign standards. 805(A)(3), on a legally created parcel in the commercial, light industrial or industrial zone, wall, awning, canopy or window signs cannot cover more than 30% of the wall they are attached to or inscribed on. Wall, awning and canopy signs in these zones may be illuminated and may include an electronic message center. As an alternative, coverage can rise to 50% of the wall if no pole sign is built on the parcel and the sign is not internally lit, though indirect lighting is still allowed.
805(B)(2) is far tighter: a wall, awning, canopy, projecting or window sign cannot exceed 8 square feet, and it may not be illuminated at all, no exception for indirect lighting. 805(C) carves out schools, places of worship and places of assembly, letting them use the commercial-zone allowance in subsection (A), including the larger coverage percentages, no matter which zone they sit in. A property owner who wants more coverage than these caps allow must seek a variance.
Violations & Fines
Article 4.8 does not carry its own fine schedule for oversized window signage; noncompliant signs are addressed through the county's standard zoning enforcement process and are subject to removal. An owner seeking relief from the 30%/50% wall-coverage cap or the 8 square foot residential-zone cap must request a variance under section 8.4.806, decided under the hearing standards of section 8.8.203. Disputes over a staff interpretation of the sign standards go to appeal under section 8.4.807, following the procedure set out in title 8, article 8.5.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a window sign in a Kootenai County commercial zone be illuminated?
What is the window sign limit in agricultural or residential zones?
Can I ask for more window sign coverage than the code allows?
Do schools and churches get a bigger sign allowance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kootenai County
Compare Kootenai County to another location·View the Idaho sign regulations overview
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