Glendale, AZ Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- UDC § 35.4.310(B)(4)(o)-(r)
- Illumination curfew
- Off 11 p.m. to sunrise
- Curfew exception
- Amber alerts, government emergencies only
- Nighttime brightness cap
- 310 foot-candles
- Property-line spillover cap
- 1.0 foot-candle at adjacent line
- Dimming requirement
- Automatic, tied to ambient light
Summary
Glendale forces digital billboards dark overnight and caps their glare at the property line. UDC § 35.4.310(B)(4)(o)-(r) requires illumination to shut off between 11 p.m. and sunrise except for emergency alerts, limits nighttime brightness to 310 foot-candles, and bans spillover above one foot-candle onto a neighboring lot.
o.Digital billboard sign illumination must be extinguished between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise. The only exception to this will be for amber alerts and other governmental emergencies.p.All illuminated digital billboard signs shall have unlimited daytime surface luminosity and shall be limited to 310 foot-candles during nighttime hours.q.All digital billboard signs shall provide for automatic dimming based upon ambient lighting conditions, including evening and overcast weather.r.It shall be unlawful for any digital billboard sign to have an illuminance greater than 1.0-foot candle at the property line of any adjacent property.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 115).
Full Breakdown
and sunrise. ' The same subsection sets a hard ceiling on brightness: subsection (p) allows unlimited daytime surface luminosity but caps nighttime luminosity at 310 foot-candles, while subsection (q) requires every digital billboard to carry automatic dimming tied to ambient light, including evening transitions and overcast weather, so the sign cannot stay at daytime brightness after dark even before the curfew hits. 0-foot candle at the property line of any adjacent property,' meaning the code regulates glare reaching neighboring land, not just brightness at the sign face.
306(N), which bars any sign's light source from being visible from a street, sidewalk or adjacent property, and they sit alongside the display-content limits in the same subsection: no fade, dissolve, full animation or video effects, and message changes no more than once every eight seconds. Subsection (s) also requires any approved digital billboard to adopt new safety requirements if future research findings develop, giving the city ongoing authority over the same illumination standards after a sign is already permitted.
Violations & Fines
An operator running a digital billboard past 11 p.m. without an amber-alert or emergency exception, exceeding the 310 foot-candle nighttime cap, or spilling more than 1.0 foot-candle onto a neighbor's property line violates § 35.4.310(B) and Chapter 35.4.300's sign standards generally. Because no dedicated fine appears in the sign article, the violation defaults to the Code's Sec. 1-7 general penalty, a Class 1 misdemeanor for each day of continued violation, or a civil code infraction pursued in Glendale City Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Glendale digital billboards have to turn off at night?
Is there a brightness limit on Glendale's digital billboards?
Can a digital billboard's light spill onto my property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
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