Harrisburg, PA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Two sections of the Harrisburg Codified Ordinances control billboard lighting in the City of Harrisburg. The billboard-specific rule is § 7-325.14(A)(6): an off-premises sign can have direct or indirect lighting, but internal illumination and electronically changing signage is prohibited. The citywide light and glare rule is § 7-331.9, which this page quotes, and § 7-331.2 makes the chapter's environmental performance standards apply to all uses and activities in all zoning districts.

Section 7-331.9 is written to reach signs by name. Any exterior light source shall not cause light spillover onto residential properties in excess of 0.5 horizontal footcandle, measured with a hand-held NIST-certified light meter at the property line on the ground surface. All light sources, including signs, have to be properly diffused as needed with a translucent or similar cover so the lighting element is not directly visible from streets, public sidewalks, dwellings, or adjacent lots, and have to be shielded and carefully directed to prevent a nuisance to residents in adjacent dwellings or undeveloped residentially zoned areas and to prevent the lighting from shining into the eyes of passing motorists. Flashing, flickering and strobe lighting are prohibited, except for nonadvertising seasonal holiday lights.

Enforcement has a documentation tool: the Zoning Officer can require a lighting study to be performed by a qualified professional. Streetlighting that is owned, financed, or maintained by the City or the state is outside the section. For billboards, the siting rules in § 7-325.14 reinforce the lighting limits, since an off-premises sign sits 250 feet from a residential lot line, and the Code lists preventing excessive light and glare on adjacent property and streets among the purposes of the billboard section. A freestanding on-premises sign that is internally illuminated is separately kept at least 15 feet from a residential lot line under § 7-325.10(B)(2).