Jefferson County, AL Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

09(h) of the Jefferson County Zoning Regulations sets the operating and lighting ceiling for every digital sign, electronic message center and digital billboard in the unincorporated county, on-premise or off-premise alike. 30 foot candles above ambient light, measured at distances keyed to the size of the sign face: for example, 32 feet for a 10-square-foot sign, 63 feet for a 40-square-foot sign, and 150 feet for anything between 41 and 300 square feet, rising to 200 feet for faces of 301 square feet or more.

Every qualifying sign must also carry a light-sensing device that automatically adjusts brightness as natural ambient light changes through the day and night, so a display calibrated for daytime sun does not blind drivers after dusk. The same subsection bars flashing or intermittent lighting outright and requires digital content to hold static for at least eight seconds between message changes, reinforcing that the brightness limit is paired with a no-glare, no-distraction design standard rather than a simple wattage cap. On-premise reflective sign lighting is treated separately and capped at 800 lumens per bulb, with the code cross-referencing the billboard standard for any internally lit sign or billboard. 06 over sign location and traffic-safety interference, with appeals to the Board of Zoning Adjustment.