Arlington County Board adopts expanded sign rules, sets new limits on private ROW signs

The Arlington County Board on March 14 adopted a package of amendments to the county’s sign rules that changes how temporary and private-party signs may be placed in the public right-of-way and increases allowable sign types and sizes in some residential-apartment (RA) zones. The main ordinance and a related change to Chapter 17 were approved after debate and a series of substitute motions; the final vote on the main motion as amended was 4 to 1.

The adopted text (Attachment 5 and Substitute Ordinance B) changes a range of provisions including temporary-sign timing, maximum sizes and counts in medians and landscape strips, and new language regulating signs placed in the public right-of-way by private parties. The Board adopted a motion amending Substitute Ordinance B to set an effective date of May 1, 2026; that amendment passed 3 to 2. A separate substitute that would have removed the allowance for private-party signs in the right-of-way failed on a 1–4 vote. The ordinance package also updates Chapter 17’s rules on displays on county property and preserves enforcement language for prohibited postings.

Board members who took key votes included Chair Matt de Ferranti and Member Julius D. “JD” Spain, Sr.; Vice-Chair Maureen Coffey and Member Susan Cunningham voted on different motions during the sequence. The adopted ordinance text includes operational limits and placement rules intended to reduce clutter, require contact identification on temporary signs, and limit certain private-party temporary sign placements.

The County Board’s action follows a public hearing in which members of the public spoke on sign placement and visibility. The adopted ordinance language states, for example, that "Temporary signs installed in the public right-of-way by private parties shall be allowed only as follows," and then specifies size, timing and placement restrictions. The Board directed staff to publish final, consolidated ordinance text and to proceed with outreach and enforcement guidance ahead of the May 1 effective date.

What happens next: the County Manager’s office and the Zoning Administrator will implement the text changes and produce guidance for residents and businesses prior to the effective date.