West Hartford, CT Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 177-33G(2)(c) of the West Hartford Zoning Code addresses window signs for tenants in business and industrial districts whose space sits above the ground floor. Ground-floor units are instead measured under the attached-and-freestanding sign formulas of Section 177-33G(2)(a), which scale permitted sign area to linear front footage of the unit's exterior wall; the six-square-foot window sign allowance is specific to upper-floor occupants who lack that street-level wall frontage. The rule limits the sign to the inside of a window that serves the unit, meaning it must be displayed from within the glass rather than mounted or painted on the exterior, and it caps the combined area of all such window signs for that unit at six square feet regardless of how many windows the unit has.

The Town imposes no location restriction beyond the window itself and requires no permit for a compliant window sign, unlike the common-sign and freestanding-sign categories in the same subsection that do require a permit. A temporary sign painted or attached to a window advertising a sale is governed separately by Section 177-33G(2)(e), which allows up to 25% of the window's area for a maximum of 30 days; that temporary allowance stacks on top of, rather than replaces, the permanent six-square-foot window sign limit in Section 177-33G(2)(c). Community Development's zoning staff enforces the combined cap when reviewing complaints or renewal sign permits for the building's other sign types.