Edison, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Brightness ceiling
- 0.2 foot-candle over ambient light
- Daytime luminance cap
- 5,000 nits
- Nighttime luminance cap
- 250 nits
- Curfew near homes
- 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Auto-dim window
- 30 min after sunset to before sunrise
- Where billboards are allowed
- Light Industrial (L-I) zone only
- Max fine per sign
- $1,250
Summary
Off-premise signs and billboards in Edison Township, New Jersey, cannot exceed 0.2 foot-candle over ambient light, capping luminance at 5,000 nits by day and 250 nits at night under Township Code § 37-62.12.o. Each display needs an automatic light-sensing dimmer, and any board within 500 feet of a residential zone must go dark from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. unless the advertised business is open.
o. Illumination and Changeable Copy of Off-premises Signs. 2. The following illumination types shall be permitted subject to any other lighting guidelines established in the zoning code: ... (f) Brightness Guidelines. Sign brightness shall not exceed two-tenths (0.2) foot candles over ambient light. (1) During daylight hours between sunrise and sunset, luminance shall be no greater than five thousand (5,000) nits. (2) At all other times, luminance shall be no greater than two hundred fifty (250) nits. (3) Each sign must have a light sensing device that will automatically adjust the brightness of the display as the natural ambient light conditions change. Brightness adjustments must be in effect from 30 minutes after sunset to thirty (30) minutes before sunrise. (g) Time Guidelines. Off-premises message boards and signs located on a lot within five hundred (500) feet of a residential zone district, and visible from such residential zone district, shall not be illuminated between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. unless the use to which the sign pertains is open for business during those hours.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4904708; v19 updated 2026-03-25; through 03-25-2026).
Full Breakdown
Edison Township Code § 37-62.12.o governs illumination of off-premise advertising signs, the freestanding billboards permitted only in the Light Industrial (L-I) zone under § 37-62.12.c. Subsection o.2 allows two illumination types, external and internal, each subject to design limits, plus any other lighting guidelines established in the zoning code (the § 37-61 outdoor lighting rules). External illumination must come from a steady, stationary, shielded light source directed solely at the sign face, static in color; internal illumination must use non-glaring lights or shielded floodlights. Flashing, intermittent or blinking illumination is barred outright.
Subsection o.2(f), Brightness Guidelines, sets the numeric ceiling: sign brightness cannot exceed two-tenths (0.2) foot-candle over ambient light. Digital and internally lit faces are capped at 5,000 nits between sunrise and sunset and 250 nits at all other times, and every sign must carry a light-sensing device that automatically ramps brightness down as ambient light fades, with the dimming schedule locked in from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise.
Subsection o.2(g), Time Guidelines, adds a curfew: any off-premise sign sited within 500 feet of a residential zone district, and visible from it, must go dark between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., unless the advertised business is open during those hours or the Township needs the board for an emergency announcement. Subsection o.2(e) separately limits digital-display cone angle to a maximum 30 degrees measured from the sign's centerline.
Enforcement runs through § 37-67, the chapter's administration and enforcement provisions, and the Zoning Officer administers all of Chapter 37, including this sign subsection.
Violations & Fines
Violations of Chapter 37, which includes the sign and billboard lighting standards, are enforced by the Zoning Officer under § 37-67.5. A Municipal Court judge can fine a violator up to $1,250 per sign; a higher fine requires a 30-day cure period and a hearing first. A second offense within one year of a prior fine draws an added penalty of at least $100, calculated separately from the underlying fine, and a judge can also order up to 90 days in the county jail or 90 days of community service.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum brightness allowed for an illuminated billboard in Edison Township?
Can a billboard stay lit all night near a house in Edison?
Where are billboards even allowed in Edison Township?
What happens if a billboard owner ignores Edison's lighting limits?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Edison
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