Springfield, OR Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

The 10 percent rule in SMC section 8.250(6)(a) applies only inside the Downtown Sign District; outside that district, section 8.234(6) exempts window signs from a permit entirely, with no percentage-of-glass cap. Downtown, once window signage passes 10 percent of the gross glass area along a street frontage, subsection (6)(b) folds the excess into the district's overall three-sign-per-business limit under section 8.250(2) and requires it to meet the wall-sign standards in section 8.250(4): three square feet of signage per lineal foot of building wall for first-story businesses, or one and one-half square feet per lineal foot for second-story-and-above businesses.

Two exceptions soften that: a window sign that qualifies as a pedestrian-oriented sign under section 8.250(3) can exceed 10 percent without counting against the limit, and any window sign can go over 10 percent without a permit for up to 60 cumulative days per calendar year, whether used consecutively or split into smaller stretches, useful for a seasonal sale banner. Subsection (6)(c) still bars any window sign, pedestrian-oriented or not, from entirely blocking the view into the business from the sidewalk. The building official issues sign permits and conducts inspections under sections 8.218 and 8.220, and Downtown Sign District enforcement runs through the citywide civil infraction schedule in SMC sections 5.604 and 5.624.