17-12-1002 Permanent Signs. Signs are allowed in B, C, M, DC, DX and DS zoning districts in accordance with the Table of Allowed Sign Types in Sec. 17-12-1002-F.
17-12-1002-C Special Uses. Signs identified with an “S” may be allowed if reviewed and approved in accordance with the special use procedures of Sec. 17-13-0900. Such signs are subject to compliance with all other applicable standards of this Zoning Ordinance.
Sign Type | B1, B2, M Districts | DC, DX Districts | B3, C3, DS Districts | C1, C2 Districts | Standards |
Sign Type | B1, B2, M Districts | DC, DX Districts | B3, C3, DS Districts | C1, C2 Districts | Standards |
On-premise | |||||
Awning | P | P | P | P | |
Freestanding [1] | P | P | P | P | |
High-Rise Building | |||||
Hotels/Hospitals |
- | P | P | - | |
Other buildings | - | S | S | - | |
Marquee | P | P | P | P | |
Projecting | P | P | P | P | |
Wall | P | P | P | P | |
Off-premise [1] | |||||
Freestanding | P | - [2] | P | P | |
Wall | P | P | P | P | |
[2] Except for city digital signs, which are permitted in DX and prohibited in DC, all other off-premises, freestanding signs are prohibited.
17-12-1003 Number, Area and Height Standards. All signs in B, C, DC, DX and DS zoning districts are subject to the Sign Area and Height Table of Sec. 17-12-1003-E.
17-12-1003-B Maximum Freestanding Sign Area. The maximum-freestanding-sign-area standard represents an additional control on the total sign face area of all freestanding signs on a zoning lot. It limits the total area of all freestanding signs to no more than 50% of the total maximum area allowed. A lot with 50 feet of street frontage in the B1 district, for example, would be allowed a total of 150 square feet of total sign area, with no more than 75 square feet of freestanding signs.
17-12-1003-C Maximum Freestanding Sign Height. The maximum-freestanding-sign-height standard limits the overall height of any freestanding sign. The standard varies according to street frontage and right-of-way width. The maximum height of a freestanding sign on any zoning lot with 75 feet of street frontage or less is 24 feet. On lots with more than 75 feet of street frontage, taller signs are allowed if the abutting street right-of-way is wider than 80 feet.
Regulation | B1, B2 Districts | DC, DX Districts | B3, C1, C3, DS Districts | C2, M Districts |
Maximum Total Sign Area (square feet) | 3 × street frontage or 600 whichever is less | 5 × street frontage or 800 whichever is less | 4 × street frontage or 1,500 whichever is less | 5 × street frontage or 1,800 whichever is less |
For lots greater than 1 acre in area with multiple street frontages, the Maximum Total Sign Area standards of this section shall apply per street frontage. | ||||
Max. Freestanding Sign Area | 50% of Maximum Total Sign Area Limit (above) | |||
Maximum Freestanding Sign Height (feet) | 24; or 35 if located on a zoning lot with more than 75 feet of street frontage on a single street that has a right-of-way width of more than 80 feet; or 50 feet if located on a zoning lot with more than 150 feet of frontage on a single street with a right-of-way width or more than 80 feet | |||
Minimum Guaranteed Wall Sign Area for Ground-floor Tenants | 32 | |||
Maximum Wall Sign Area | 33% of building wall area |
B1, B2 Districts | DC, DX Districts | B3, C1, C3, DS Districts | C2, M Districts | |
Allowed Lighting | Direct, Indirect or Internal | |||
Dynamic Image Display Signs
| Allowed, subject to Sec. 17-12-1005-B (city digital signs are instead subject to Section 17-12-1200) | |||
Flashing Signs | Prohibited | Allowed, subject to Sec. 17-12-1005-C | ||
Video Display Signs |
Prohibited except as allowed in Section 17-12-0711 |
Prohibited except as allowed in Section 17-12-0711 |
17-12-1005-B Dynamic Image Display Signs. In B1 and B2 districts, sign face area devoted to dynamic image display signs may not exceed 25% of the maximum total sign area allowed under Sec. 17-12-1003 or 32 square feet, whichever is less. In all districts, sign face area devoted to dynamic image display signs may not exceed 25% of the maximum total sign area allowed under Sec. 17-12-1003 or 64 square feet, whichever is less.
1. Maximum Area. The total sign face area of all flashing signs on a lot may not exceed 25% of overall sign area limit or 100 square feet, whichever is less.
2. Maximum Height. No part of any flashing sign may exceed a height of 24 feet.
3. Prohibited Locations. Flashing signs are prohibited in the following locations:
(a) B1 districts;
(b) B2 districts;
(c) Within 125 feet of any R or public park with an area of 2 acres or more;
(d) Within 100 feet of any DR district;
(e) Within 500 feet of Lake Shore Drive;
(f) Within 500 feet of any designated expressway or toll road; and
(g) Within 500 feet of Michigan Avenue, between Oak Street on the north and Roosevelt Road on the south.
1. No more than one high-rise building sign is allowed on any building, unless the building is located within a planned development and the principal tenant of such building, as identified in 17-12-1005-D.9, also meets the criteria of 17-12-1005-D.10.
2. The maximum sign face area of a high-rise building sign is limited as follows:
Height of Sign (feet above grade at base of building) | Maximum Area (square feet) |
Height of Sign (feet above grade at base of building) | Maximum Area (square feet) |
150 – 199 | 200 |
200 – 299 | 300 |
300 – 399 | 400 |
400 – 499 | 500 |
500 – 599 | 600 |
600 – 649 | 700 |
650 – 699 | 800 |
700 – 749 | 900 |
750 – 799 | 1,000 |
800+ | 1,100 |
3. High-rise building signs must be individual letter signs.
4. High-rise building signs may not be attached to roof-mounted structures that exist solely for the purpose of supporting the sign.
5. High-rise building signs must be located directly below the highest roof line of the building and may not exceed 50% of the wall width at the height the high-rise building sign is established, provided that any high-rise building sign installed on the exterior wall of any roof-top mechanical equipment penthouse or other roof-top feature that is integral to the building upon which it is located may not exceed 50% of the wall width of the exterior wall of the building immediately beneath the height at which the high-rise building sign is established.
6. High-rise building signs must be integrated into the total building design to avoid detracting from the visual character of the building.
7. High-rise building signs comprised of more than one individual letter or element shall not have a height measurement that exceeds their width.
8. No projecting signs are allowed as high-rise building signs.
9. High-rise building signs shall be limited to business identification for the principal tenant of the building or, if applicable, the alternate principal tenant. For purposes of this subsection, "principal tenant" means a tenant that occupies or has a signed lease to occupy at least the lesser of 36% of the building's total floor area or 250,000 square feet of the building's total floor area. If there is no principal tenant, or if the principal tenant informs the Zoning Administrator in writing that it does not wish to display a high-rise building sign, then an alternate principal tenant may apply to the City for approval of a high-rise building sign identifying said alternate principal tenant (in place of, and not in addition to, a high-rise building sign identifying the principal tenant). For purposes of this subsection, "alternate principal tenant" means a tenant which: (i) is the building's largest tenant, or next-largest tenant if there is no principal tenant, or, if there is a principal tenant, is the next-largest tenant; (ii) maintains the primary offices of its international, national or regional headquarters, or similarly publicly recognized significant business unit(s), in the building; and, (iii) either (a) maintains the primary offices of its chief executive or other executive officers in the building and employs 1,000 individuals nationally, or, (b) if those executive positions are not present in the building then employs at least 1,000 individuals in the building. Any principal or alternate principal tenant must provide the Zoning Administrator with building owner support for such high-rise building sign.
10. If a principal tenant, as identified in Section 17-12-1005-D.9, maintains, in the subject building: (i) its international headquarters, or if no international headquarters exists, its national headquarters; (ii) its chief executive officer; and (iii) occupies or has a signed lease to occupy at least the lesser of 60 percent of the building's total floor area or 450,000 square feet of the building's total floor area, then such principal tenant is eligible to place two high-rise building signs on the subject building.
11. High-rise building sign area does not count toward the Section 17-12-1003-E maximum total sign area permitted on a zoning lot.
Editor's note – Coun. J. 7-20-16, p. 29358, § 2, repealed § 17-12-1005-E, which pertained to marquee signs.
Editor's note – Coun. J. 4-30-14, p. 80832, § 5, repealed § 17-12-1005-G, which pertained to video display signs.
1. Off-premise signs with a sign face area of more than 100 square feet are prohibited within 250 feet of any residential district.
2. Off-premise signs are prohibited entirely within 100 feet of any residential district; except off-premises dynamic image display signs are prohibited entirely within 125 feet of any residential district. This prohibition does not apply to any sign located within a planned development in which the principal use is: (1) a sports stadium; or (2) an exhibition or convention center.
3. These distances are to be measured as a straight-line distance from a point on the sign face nearest the R or DR district to nearest residential district boundary. (See Sec. 17-1-0803 for rules governing interpretation of zoning district boundaries)
1. Off-premise signs are prohibited entirely within 100 feet of a residential building located in a D district.
2. This distance is to be measured as a straight-line distance from a point on the sign face nearest the residential building to nearest property line of the lot on which the residential building is located.
1. Off-premise signs are prohibited within 100 feet of a waterway.
2. The waterways subject to this provision include: Chicago River Main Branch, Chicago River North Branch and North Branch Canal, Chicago River South Branch and South Fork of the South Branch, North Shore Channel, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Calumet River and Lake Calumet, Little Calumet River, Grand Calumet River, Wolf Lake, and Des Plaines River.
3. Measurement of the 100-foot distance from waterways is to be made from the high water mark boundary of the waterway along an axis generally perpendicular to the waterway.
1. Off-premise signs are prohibited within 400 feet of a public park with an area of 10 acres or more if the sign face is legible from the subject park.
2. Off-premise signs are prohibited within 100 feet of a public park with an area of 2 acres or more if the sign face is legible from the subject park.
3. These distances are to be measured as a straight-line distance from a point on the sign face nearest the park to the center line of any street bounding the park.
17-12-1006-E Lakefront Protection District. Off-premise signs are prohibited within the boundaries of the Lake Michigan and Chicago Lakefront Protection District. (See Chapter 16-4, “Lake Michigan and Chicago Lakefront Protection Ordinance”)
1. Off-premise signs are prohibited within 500 feet of the following street and road rights- of-way:
(a) Lake Shore Drive;
(b) any designated expressway or toll road;
(c) Michigan Avenue, between Oak Street on the north and Roosevelt Road on the south.
2. Off-premise signs visible from those street and roads indicated in Sec. 17-12-1006-F-1 but located more than 500 feet of the right-of-way must be at least 500 feet from all other off-premise signs located on the same side of the street or road.
3. Separation distances from streets and roads are to be measured as a straight-line distance from a point on the sign face nearest the referenced street or road to the nearest right-of-way line of such street or road. Separation distances between off-premise signs are to be measured as a straight-line distance from points on the respective sign faces that are nearest the other sign.
1. New off-premise signs proposed in B or C districts are prohibited within 300 feet of any other off-premise sign located on the same side of the street.
2. New off-premise signs proposed in D or M districts are prohibited within 150 feet of any other off-premise sign located on the same side of the street.
3. Separation distances between off- premise signs are to be measured as a straight-line distance from points on the respective sign faces that are nearest the other sign.
17-12-1006-I Flashing and Video Display Elements. Off-premise signs may not contain flashing elements or video displays, except as allowed in section 17-12-0711.
(Added Coun. J. 5-26-04, p. 25275; Amend Coun. J. 3-9-05, p. 44391; Amend Coun. J. 9-13-06, p. 84870, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-07, p. 105899, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. VII, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-12-12, p. 44485, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 2-13-13, p. 47133, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 4-30-14, p. 80382, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 5-28-14, p. 82414, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-14, p. 98820, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 7-20-16, p. 29358, §§ 1, 2; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-16, p. 38287, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 10-31-18, p. 87780, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 3-24-21, p. 29061, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-23, p. 1992, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 5-22-24, p. 12078, § 1)