Clayton County, GA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Any billboard erected in unincorporated Clayton County needs a conditional use permit under Sec. 18(B), and the lighting rule tied to that permit is Sec. L. An internally illuminated billboard face is capped at 20 foot-candles of incandescent light, measured 10 feet out from the sign structure, a bright but bounded ceiling meant to keep a large freeway sign from washing out the night along I-75, I-285 or I-675. Externally illuminated boards carry no numeric cap, but the ordinance still bars any fixture positioned so its beam glares or shines directly into the eyes of a passing driver or pedestrian, treating that as a hazardous or dangerous condition.

The same section separately forbids primary-colored lighting anywhere on a billboard face, guarding against a sign being mistaken for a red, amber or green traffic signal, and requires that neither direct nor reflected light from the sign's light sources create a hazard for motorists. These illumination rules sit inside the county's broader billboard package: Sec. 18(C) confines billboards to commercial or industrial parcels of at least 22,000 square feet fronting I-75, I-285, I-675, Lees Mill Road or a contiguous frontage road, and Sec. , on top of the county's own standard, applying whichever rule is stricter.

The Department of Community Development reviews illumination compliance as part of the conditional use application described in Sec. 16, and the fixed 20 foot-candle ceiling and anti-glare standard apply for the life of the sign, not just at installation.