Chicopee, MA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Lighting standard
- No flashing or distracting lights or images
- Size tiers covered
- Up to 144 sq ft; over 144 to under 800 sq ft
- Approval
- City Council special permit plus state Outdoor Advertising Division permit
- Citywide cap
- 59 billboard faces
- Application fee
- $100, nonrefundable, paid to City Clerk
- Annual inspection fee
- $100 per face, due January 15
Summary
In the City of Chicopee, Massachusetts, no billboard may contain or project flashing or distracting lights or images. The bar sits in the special permit criteria of Chicopee Code § 275-50(A) and applies to both size tiers: billboards up to 144 square feet and billboards over 144 but under 800 square feet. The City Council decides each permit.
(c) Billboards and nonaccessory signs shall be governed by special permit. ... (g) Evaluation of billboard proposals is based on distance from public land uses, residential land uses, aesthetics and public safety. [1] For billboards that do not exceed 144 square feet on a surface(s), the following criteria apply: ... [d] The billboard may not obstruct the view of and may not be confused with any traffic control devices and may not cause a traffic hazard. [e] The billboard may not obstruct any scenic or important view. [f] The billboard may not contain or project any flashing or distracting lights or images. [g] The billboard must be aesthetically pleasing. [2] For billboards greater than 144 square feet but less than 800 square feet on a surface(s), the following criteria apply: ... [f] The billboard may not contain or project any flashing or distracting lights or images.
Full Breakdown
Chicopee regulates billboard lighting through the special permit that controls the billboard itself. Under § 275-50(A)(1)(c), billboards and nonaccessory signs are governed by special permit, and the City Council grants it. Subsection (g) says evaluation of a billboard proposal is based on distance from public land uses, residential land uses, aesthetics and public safety. The lighting criterion sits inside that test. For a billboard that does not exceed 144 square feet on a surface, and again for a billboard greater than 144 square feet but less than 800 square feet, the code says the billboard may not contain or project any flashing or distracting lights or images. The wording reaches images as well as lights, so a changing display is caught along with a strobing bulb. Section 275-50(A) prints no brightness figure or timing figure; the standard is the wording itself, applied by the City Council when it acts on the permit. The same criteria bar a billboard from obstructing the view of, or being confused with, any traffic control device, and from causing a traffic hazard.
Lighting is one criterion among several. A billboard cannot sit within 1,500 feet of a park or the main building entrance of a school or church, or within 500 feet of residentially zoned land. Spacing from another freestanding billboard or nonaccessory sign is 350 feet for the smaller tier and 750 feet for the larger tier. The City Council can waive distance requirements if the applicant asks in writing and shows the sign will not create a traffic hazard or visual nuisance; the waiver clause names distance requirements only. Citywide the number of billboards is limited to 59 faces, and every billboard needs a permit from both the City of Chicopee and the Outdoor Advertising Division of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Costs are fixed in the same section: a nonrefundable application fee totaling $100, payable to the City Clerk, and an annual inspection fee totaling $100 per face, due on or before January 15 of each calendar year. On-premises accessory signs are separate. Section 275-50(C)(2) requires a City Council special permit for accessory signs animated with lights that flash, move, rotate, scintillate, blink, flicker, vary in intensity, vary in color or use intermittent electronic pulsations.
Violations & Fines
A billboard design that projects flashing or distracting lights does not meet the criteria the City Council applies under § 275-50(A). Zoning violations in Chicopee are fined up to $200 for each violation, levied by the Building Commissioner and appealable under § 275-8 (§ 275-19). If a billboard permit lapses, is revoked or is not renewed, the City, after notice to the permit holder, can remove the sign at the owner's expense. Maintenance failures left uncured 30 days after written notice from the Building Inspector draw a $100 fine, an additional $250 at 45 days, and removal at 60 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a billboard in Chicopee have a flashing or digital display?
Who approves a billboard in the City of Chicopee?
What does a Chicopee billboard permit cost?
Do the billboard lighting rules cover a business's own sign in Chicopee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chicopee
Compare Chicopee to another location·View the Massachusetts outdoor lighting overview
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