Janesville, WI Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Section 28-189(d)(11) of the Janesville Code of General Ordinances sets operational standards for every off-premises electronic message sign, the kind of digital billboard most likely to raise a glare complaint. Subsection (c) is the brightness rule: no such sign may be illuminated to a degree or brightness greater than necessary for adequate visibility, and the standard is judged in the opinion of the Chief of Police or the Building Official rather than by a fixed nit or lumen ceiling. If either official finds a billboard too bright, Section 28-189(d)(11)c directs that the sign be adjusted in accordance with the City's instructions, giving code enforcement a direct order-to-comply tool instead of a citation-only remedy.

The same subsection folds in two related restrictions: the sign cannot interfere with the visibility or operation of any traffic control device, and it cannot display a graphic that could be mistaken for one. On-premises electronic message signs get a comparable but separately numbered brightness clause at Section 28-148(c)(3), which uses similar language, applies to readerboards on the same lot as a business, and adds a sign-district-based curfew, no operation between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. within 500 feet of a home, that the off-premises billboard rule does not carry.

Because Section 28-189 places the brightness call with the Chief of Police or Building Official rather than a numeric photometric limit, a Janesville property owner planning a lit billboard face should expect the standard to be enforced through direct City inspection and an adjustment order, not a permit-stage light-meter reading.