Sheboygan, WI Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Window letters and numbers
- Outside the § 98-37 fee schedule
- Window posters and pictures
- Outside the § 98-37 fee schedule
- Window coverage cap
- No percentage printed in § 98-37(d)
- Nonprojecting sign under 75 square feet
- $15.00 permit fee (§ 98-37(a)(1))
- Obstruction rule
- No sign blocking a window, egress or ladders (§ 98-5(f))
- Enforcing officer
- City planner (§ 98-2)
Summary
Sheboygan exempts letters or numbers painted or attached to a window, and any poster or picture placed in a window, from the sign permit fee schedule in § 98-37(d). The section prints no percentage or square-foot cap on window coverage. A separate rule, § 98-5(f), bars any sign built to obstruct a window in a way that hinders egress or fire department ladders.
(a) Permit fees to be paid by the applicant prior to issuance of a permit required by this article shall be based on the following schedule: ... (d) This section shall not apply to any sign or advertising painted upon the wall of a building or to letters or numbers painted or attached to a window or to any poster or picture placed in a window.
Full Breakdown
Section 98-37 is Sheboygan's sign permit fee schedule, and subsection (d) carves out window displays. It says the section does not apply to any sign or advertising painted upon the wall of a building, to letters or numbers painted or attached to a window, or to any poster or picture placed in a window. The exemption speaks to the fees in that section only. It does not mention the permit language of § 98-36, and it prints no percentage of window area, square-foot cap or duration limit for window signs or temporary posters.
What the exemption skips is a real fee table. A nonprojecting sign, poster panel, billboard or signboard erected, posted or painted on any premises pays $15.00 under 75 square feet, $30.00 for 75 to 150 square feet, and $0.20 per square foot above 150 square feet (§ 98-37(a)(1)). Signs projecting over sidewalks, public streets or public alleys pay $0.40 per square foot with a minimum fee of $20.00, plus an annual fee due July 1 of $20.00 for a sign not exceeding 20 square feet or $40.00 above that (§ 98-37(a)(2), (3)). Fees go to the finance director/treasurer and are credited to the general fund (§ 98-37(b)), and electrical work on signs is charged under the electrical code in addition (§ 98-37(c)).
The window itself is protected by a different subsection. Section 98-5(f) says no sign or billboard shall be so constructed as to obstruct any door, doorway or window of any building so as to hinder or prevent ingress or egress through such openings or to prevent or hinder the placing of ladders against the building by the fire department. The city planner enforces Chapter 98 (§ 98-2), and § 98-3 requires every sign, poster panel, billboard or advertising structure to conform to the chapter and to such safety provisions as the city planner prescribes.
Violations & Fines
Section 98-37(d) prints no penalty of its own. Chapter 98's specific forfeiture in § 98-7 covers only § 98-38 and Article III, so a violation of another chapter section, such as the egress rule in § 98-5(f), falls under the general penalty in § 1-12(a): a forfeiture of not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00 plus costs of prosecution, with imprisonment in default of up to 90 days. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense (§ 1-12(b)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do window signs in Sheboygan pay the sign permit fee?
How much of a Sheboygan window can a sign cover?
Who enforces the sign rules for storefront windows?
What does a Sheboygan projecting sign cost compared with a window sign?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sheboygan
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