Downtown Salem business owners are being told to strip hand-painted art from their storefront windows or start paying fines of $20 a day after Halloween. Several establishments, including Gulu-Gulu Café and Curly Girl Candy Shop, have received notices ordering the artwork removed.
The notices trace back to updated standards the Salem Redevelopment Authority put in place in 2025 governing temporary window displays across the city's downtown Urban Renewal Area, according to CBS News. Under those rules, temporary window art must be removed or replaced at least every three months and cannot cover more than 20% of a storefront's window glass. The description of a video posted to the Facebook page of Painted Lady Sign Co. mentions $20 daily fines and removal after Halloween.
Compounding the problem, the city's code also bars window artwork from including business names, logos, branding, or trademarked imagery — reclassifying any art that references a brand as commercial signage that would need approval from the Design Review Board, the CBS News report explains. That provision is why Gulu-Gulu Café's painted window artwork in Salem, Massachusetts, which depicts beagles sailing through Salem, runs afoul of city policy. The artwork had been installed about two weeks before owner Eric Crescimano spoke to CBS News, even though merchants argue the murals are simply part of downtown Salem's creative character.
Why the Math Doesn't Add Up for Small Storefronts
Local sign painter Meg Nichols of Painted Lady Sign Co. says the 20% window coverage limit isn't as workable as it sounds, because the calculation factors in signage that's already permanently installed. In the same Facebook video, Nichols explained that once existing signs are counted against the cap, many merchants are left with virtually no space at all for temporary painted art.
The dispute over the sign math sits on top of the city's broader zoning and sign rules. Sign permits in Salem are administered through the city's Department of Planning and Community Development and Inspectional Services.
The notebook compiles design-review guidelines. A City of Salem Downtown Salem Retail Market Study addressed storefront design guidelines and incentives.
Merchants Cry Foul Over Uneven Enforcement
Several downtown merchants have complained about the SRA's enforcement of rules affecting local hand-painted murals. Business owners and independent artists contend that hand-painted window art is part of what makes downtown Salem distinctive.
The Salem Redevelopment Authority itself dates back to 1962, when it was established to clear urban blight from downtown Salem, according to The West End Museum. The authority still oversees architectural design and signage across the Urban Renewal Area today, and business owners argue that decades-old, artistically painted windows hardly amount to the blight the agency was created to address.
According to a Salem Redevelopment Authority annual report, the city adopted urban renewal plans. A Salem Redevelopment Authority annual report dated July 1, 2009, said the SRA and Design Review Board reviewed and approved all sign changes proposed in the Urban Renewal Areas.
Public Meeting Set Before Fines Kick In
A joint public meeting of the Salem Redevelopment Authority is scheduled for Wednesday at the City Hall Annex and via Zoom, per the Painted Lady Sign Co. video. The session was described as a forum for discussion.
Business owners are contesting the policy, while the SRA has defended it. For now, shop owners are left weighing whether to repaint, cover up, or fight the notices as the dispute continues.
