Southampton Village, NY Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 116-13E(1) permits window signs in all nonresidential districts. The code defines a window sign as a sign affixed to or painted on the glass of an exterior window or door of a business, on either side of the glass, or visible through the glass and placed within one foot of it. A real estate agency's customary display of photographs of houses is excluded from the definition, but it cannot be plastic and cannot be back lit.

The area limits are separate for doors and windows. Window signs on door glass cannot exceed 10% of that glass area, or 10% per business where one door serves more than one business. Window signs on a window cannot exceed 20% of the area of the window. Window sign area is debited against the permitted wall sign area, except for signs showing hours of operation, business affiliations, emergency information and the like, which are exempt if the aggregate for a single business does not exceed one square foot per window or door.

Two kinds of posters sit outside the percentage limits and need no permit. Posters advertising special events or activities of local public interest at other sites must be removed no later than five days after the event. Posters advertising special sales or promotions of the on-site business cannot be displayed for more than 30 consecutive days, nor re-displayed more than three times per calendar year. Section 116-13E(1)(f) then caps the combined area: ordinary window signs plus sale posters cannot exceed 25% of the window, and ordinary window signs plus event posters, or plus both kinds of poster, cannot exceed 30%.

Menu box signs are separate: one per business, one-sided, attached to a building wall, as small as practicable, lit only by shielded white light not exceeding 30 watts, and never on the Village right-of-way. Neon signs visible from the street are prohibited under § 116-13F(10) unless the Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation finds they contribute to a building's architectural or historic significance.