Indio, CA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Billboard signs
- Outright prohibited citywide
- Nonconforming billboards (outside I-10)
- 7-year amortization clock
- Illumination term defined
- Bottom-mounted outdoor advertising fixture
- Jurisdiction
- Indio, Riverside County, California
Summary
Indio's Unified Development Code lists billboard signs as an outright prohibited sign type citywide, so no new billboard lighting fixtures can be installed; legal nonconforming billboards outside the I-10 corridor must be removed within 7 years.
Any sign with an exposed light source, except for neon incorporated into the design of the sign;
3. Any sign which uses florescent colors;
4. Any sign which emits sound, odor, smoke, laser or hologram lights, or other visible matter, including any sign that uses motion picture projection;
5. Any sign animated by any means, including fixed aerial displays, balloons, pennants, spinners, including strings of flags, streamers, tubes, or other devices affected by the movement of the air or other atmospheric or mechanical means;
6. Any sign in which the sign body or any portion of the sign rotates, moves up and down, or any other type of action involving a change in position of the sign body or any portion of the sign, whether by mechanical or any other means. Barber poles no larger than three feet high and 10 inches in diameter, and clocks, are excepted from this restriction; and 7. Strings of lights arranged in the shape of a product, arrow, or any commercial message.
C. Prohibited Sign Types.
1. Bandit signs;
2. Billboard signs;
3. Stuffed or inflated animals or characters used as signs;
4. Any sign which advertises a business no longer in existence or a product or service no longer being sold, except as provided in Section 3.05.08F.2 (Removal or Replacement of a Nonconforming Sign) and landmark signs; and 5. Any signs not specifically allowed in this Chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4796010; v13 updated 2026-02-04; through 02-04-2026).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 3.05 of Indio's Unified Development Code bans billboard signs outright, listing 'Billboard signs' among its 'Prohibited Sign Types' alongside bandit signs and animated displays. That citywide ban forecloses any new billboard lighting installation in this Riverside County, California city. Legal nonconforming billboards that predate the 2022 ordinance get a narrower reprieve: Section 3.05.08(J)(3) gives billboards outside the Interstate 10 corridor a 7-year amortization clock before removal, while the code separately defines an 'Approved Bottom-Mounted Outdoor Advertising Fixture' as lighting installed at the lower portion of a billboard, without operationalizing illumination standards for a use the city no longer permits.
Violations & Fines
Installing a new billboard or billboard lighting fixture violates § 3.05.03(C)(2)'s outright prohibition; nonconforming billboards outside the I-10 corridor face mandatory removal after the 7-year amortization period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a new billboard be built in Indio?
What happens to billboards that already existed before the ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Indio
California rules heatmap·Compare Indio to another location·View the California outdoor lighting overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Billboard Lighting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle billboard lighting.