Erie, PA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Covers
- Signs, billboards, outdoor advertising (Sec. 303 intro)
- Illuminated hours
- 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
- 24-hour business
- No shutoff required
- Daytime brightness cap
- 5,000 nits
- Nighttime brightness cap
- 250 nits
- Glare control
- Cutoff fixtures, shields, baffles required
- Citation
- Zoning Ordinance Sec. 303.14
Summary
Erie requires every illuminated sign, including billboards regulated under the city's outdoor-advertising rules, to control glare with cutoff fixtures, shields, or baffles rather than vegetation screens, per Zoning Ordinance Section 303.14. Digital displays can only run from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (later for 24-hour businesses) and must self-dim from 5,000 nits by day to 250 nits at night.
All signs, billboards, and outdoor advertising as prescribed herein shall require a building permit and shall conform to the following standards... 303.14. Illuminated signs shall comply with the following requirements: (a) Light sources to illuminate signs shall not produce glare hazardous or distracting to pedestrians, vehicle drivers, or adjacent properties. (b) Glare control shall be achieved primarily through the use of such means as cutoff fixtures, shields, and baffles, and appropriate application of fixture mounting height, wattage, aiming angle, and fixture placement. Vegetation screens shall not be employed to serve as the primary means for controlling glare. (d) All illuminated identification signs, both digital and nondigital, may be illuminated from 5:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., or until 1/2 hour past the close of business of the facility being identified or advertised, whichever is later. A business or facility that is open 24 hours a day is not required to turn off their signs. (e) Brightness limits for message center signs and digital displays shall be up to 5,000 nits (candela per square meter) between sunrise and sunset and up to 250 nits during nighttime hours.
Full Breakdown
Section 303's opening line makes clear who this reaches: 'All signs, billboards, and outdoor advertising as prescribed herein shall require a building permit and shall conform to the following standards.' Section 303.14, 'Illuminated signs,' is one of those standards, and it applies to any of those sign types once they're lit. Subsection (a) bars light sources that produce glare 'hazardous or distracting to pedestrians, vehicle drivers, or adjacent properties,' and (b) tells operators how to fix that: 'cutoff fixtures, shields, and baffles' along with mounting height, wattage, aiming angle, and placement are the approved tools, while vegetation screens specifically are not allowed to serve as the primary glare control.
Digital and message-center displays get their own operating rules. Subsection (d) limits illumination hours to 5:00 a.m. through 11:00 p.m., or half an hour past closing for the business the sign identifies, with 24-hour businesses excused from any cutoff at all. Subsection (e) caps brightness at 5,000 nits between sunrise and sunset and 250 nits overnight, and requires a light-sensing device that adjusts the display automatically to stay inside those limits. Elsewhere in Section 303.14, flashing, moving, or rotating-beacon-style illumination is barred outright, and message-center content can't scroll or flash either, each message has to hold for at least eight seconds before it changes.
Violations & Fines
An illuminated sign or billboard that exceeds the nighttime brightness cap, runs outside its permitted hours, or relies on flashing or moving lights violates Section 303.14 and is treated as any other zoning violation under Section 403. The Zoning Officer issues an enforcement notice describing the defect with a compliance deadline, and an operator who doesn't correct it can face a civil judgment of up to $500 per day plus court costs and attorney fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Erie's illuminated-sign lighting standards apply to billboards specifically?
How bright can a digital billboard or message-center sign be at night in Erie?
What hours can an illuminated sign or billboard run in Erie?
Can a billboard use flashing or moving lights to grab attention?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Erie
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