Inglewood, CA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Municipal Code Section 12-76(G) sets the baseline lighting rule for every sign type in the City: pole signs and projecting signs may be internally lighted only, while monument signs, wall signs, and billboards may instead be externally illuminated by spotlight. That external lighting comes with two hard conditions built into the same sentence: the spotlight devices must be minimally noticeable, and they cannot shine directly onto any public right-of-way or onto neighboring property. Because billboards are one of the sign types the code names as eligible for spotlighting, an externally lit billboard face is lawful only if it meets both conditions; a fixture that floods a street or an adjoining yard violates the section regardless of the billboard's own size or zoning approval.

5(D) layers on a hazard-specific standard: no lighting, direct, indirect, internal, or flashing, may be bright or reflective enough to endanger aircraft near the sign, distract motorized vehicle traffic, obscure a traffic signal or authorized sign, obstruct the sight distance triangle at a street or freeway intersection, spill into the public right-of-way, or interfere with a neighboring owner's use of their property. Both provisions sit inside Article 23's sign regulations and are enforced by the same officials who administer sign permits generally, the Planning Division for unpermitted violations and the Building Division for permitted structures under Section 12-71.