Albuquerque, NM Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

The IDO's electronic sign standards at § 14-16-5-12(H)(4) apply to every electronic sign in the city, on-premises or off-premises, on top of any more restrictive requirement in § 14-16-5-12(E)(5)'s general illumination and motion rules. Every electronic sign must have automatic dimming controls, either a hardwired photocell or software settings, so brightness adjusts with ambient light. 3 foot candles above ambient light, measured perpendicular to the sign face with the meter targeting the color white, from a distance keyed to the sign's area under Table 5-12-6 (for example, 71 feet for a 50-square-foot sign, 100 feet for a 100-square-foot sign, 150 feet for a 300-square-foot sign).

The section also cross-references the on-premises and off-premises luminance standards elsewhere in § 14-16-5-12, so a billboard-sized electronic sign must meet whichever limit is more restrictive. Beyond brightness, electronic signs may only display static messages and images: no video, scrolling, or animation. A displayed message cannot change more often than once every 8 seconds, and the transition between messages is capped at 1 second with no visual effects during the switch. For off-premises electronic billboards specifically, § 14-16-5-12(H)(3)(b) separately requires that converting an existing billboard to electronic, or building a new electronic off-premises sign, be offset by removing existing off-premises sign area equal to at least three times the new sign's advertising area.