Asheville, NC Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Section 7-13-5 of the Asheville Code of Ordinances governs off-premises signs, the category that covers billboards, and subsection (a)(3) sets the illumination standard that applies to every off-premises sign the city allows. Any light used to illuminate a billboard must be shielded so the beams or rays do not shine directly into surrounding areas or onto the public roadway, and neither the direct light nor its reflection can create a traffic hazard or distraction for drivers on public thoroughfares. That illumination rule sits inside a broader off-premises sign framework: billboards are only permitted at all in the Community Business II, Highway Business, Regional Business, River, Commercial Industrial, and Industrial zoning districts, capped at six square feet per directional flow of traffic (12 square feet total per structure) and six feet in height, and spaced at least 1,000 linear feet apart along the same street.

Section 7-13-5(a)(2) also restricts placement in the right-of-way, requiring 25 feet of clearance from the edge of pavement and sign-off from the city traffic engineer before any off-premises structure can encroach there. Separately, section 7-13-5(b)(4) prohibits leaving a neon or internally illuminated off-premises sign standing with only partial illumination for more than 30 successive days, closing off a loophole where a billboard operator might let half a sign go dark indefinitely rather than repair it. Anyone erecting or maintaining an off-premises advertising structure must also hold a current outdoor advertising license under section 7-13-2(b)(2)b, which requires the licensee to already be a licensed sign contractor and to file an annual list of every sign structure it leases, owns, or maintains, keyed to Buncombe County tax parcel numbers.