Casa Grande, AZ Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Chapter 15.48, the City's Outdoor Light Control (Dark Sky) Ordinance, defines 'outdoor light fixtures' broadly to include search, spot, or flood lights used for buildings, recreational areas, parking lots, landscaping, street lighting, and, specifically, 'billboards and other signage (advertising and other)' under Section 15.48.040(E). Because billboard lighting falls within that definition, it is subject to the same shielding regime as any other exterior fixture: Section 15.48.050 requires full or partial shielding as set out in the Section 15.48.070 table, and searchlights used for advertising are separately prohibited citywide under Section 15.48.080, except as allowed under Chapter 15.24.

The table at Section 15.48.070 carries a specific carve-out for illuminated signs in Footnote 5, which states that outdoor advertising signs built of translucent materials and wholly illuminated from within do not require shielding. That means a backlit, translucent billboard face is exempt from the fully or partially shielded standard that applies to spotlights or floodlights aimed at a sign face from outside. Anyone installing new billboard or sign lighting equipment must still apply for a permit under Section 15.48.130 if the fixture is not otherwise exempt, submitting plans and specifications to the zoning inspector under Section 15.48.140, and the zoning inspector can grant a special exemption from Section 15.48.070 under Section 15.48.120.D only on a written finding of extreme geographic or geometric conditions with no conforming fixture available.