Compton, CA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Brilliance standard
- Cal. Vehicle Code § 21466.5 threshold
- Flashing/moving light
- Prohibited on advertising displays
- Traffic-signal interference
- Prohibited outright
- Graffiti removal window
- 48 hours after telephonic notice
- LED/reader board carve-out
- Allowed if compliant with state/federal law
Summary
Compton bars billboard illumination that interferes with traffic signals, flashes or moves, or throws glare at drivers, and ties the brightness cutoff to the California Vehicle Code's own driver-safety standard.
No advertising display may be placed that is so illuminated that it interferes with the effectiveness of, or obscures any official traffic sign, device, or signal; nor shall any advertising display include or be illuminated by flashing, intermittent, or moving light; nor shall any advertising display cause beams or rays of light to be directed at the traveled ways if the light is of an intensity or brilliance as to cause glare or to impair the vision of any driver, or to interfere with any driver's operation of a motor vehicle. ... Illuminations shall be considered vision impairing when its brilliance exceeds the values set forth in section 21466.5 of the California Vehicle Code, or any successor statute or Caltrans regulation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4952997; v15 updated 2026-07-14; through 07-14-2026).
Full Breakdown
9(a)(6) prohibits any advertising display so illuminated that it interferes with or obscures an official traffic sign, device or signal. The same paragraph bans flashing, intermittent or moving light on any advertising display, and bars directing beams or rays at travel lanes with intensity or brilliance that causes glare, impairs a driver's vision or interferes with a driver operating a vehicle. That illumination ban does not reach properly maintained reader boards or LED displays that comply with state and federal law. 5 or any successor statute or Caltrans regulation.
The same subsection separately requires an illuminated display's owner to remove graffiti within 48 hours of telephonic notice from the City. , under (a)(8), so a lighting scheme that satisfies the city's brilliance ceiling still has to clear the state statute's separate illumination rules.
Violations & Fines
A billboard illuminated beyond the Vehicle Code § 21466.5 brilliance threshold, or one that flashes, moves or interferes with a traffic signal, is an illegal sign under § 30-22.8 and a declared public nuisance subject to abatement. The City serves written notice by registered or certified mail and posts it on site, giving the owner 30 days to bring the lighting into compliance or remove the display, with an appeal available to the Planning Director before that period expires. The City may summarily remove any sign it deems an immediate threat to public safety, and unpaid removal or storage costs become a lien against the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
How bright can a Compton billboard's illumination be?
Are flashing or moving lights allowed on billboards in Compton?
How fast must graffiti be removed from an illuminated billboard?
What happens if a billboard's lighting violates the glare rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Compton
California rules heatmap·Compare Compton to another location·View the California outdoor lighting overview
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Billboard Lighting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle billboard lighting.