Johnston County, NC Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Flashing/moving lights
- Banned on outdoor advertising signs
- Glare toward the highway
- Prohibited outright
- Nonconforming signs
- No illumination may be added
- Traffic signal interference
- Prohibited
- Enforcement tool
- Sign permit revocation, § 14-514(e)
Summary
Outdoor advertising signs along U.S. 70 and I-95 can't use flashing, intermittent, or moving lights, and any light aimed at the highway that creates glare or impairs a driver's vision is prohibited outright. Illumination can never be added to a nonconforming sign. Land Development Code § 14-514(b)(8) and (10) set the standard, enforced through the county's outdoor-advertising permit process.
(8) Signs shall not be illuminated by any flashing, intermittent, or moving light or lights. ... (10) Signs which are not effectively shielded so as to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any portion of the traveled ways of U.S. 70 or I-95 and which are of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare and to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle, or which otherwise interfere with any driver's operation of a motor vehicle are prohibited. ... (13) Illumination shall not be added to nonconforming signs.
Full Breakdown
Johnston County's outdoor advertising sign standards single out lighting as a safety issue rather than an aesthetic one. Subsection (8) bars any flashing, intermittent, or moving light on an outdoor advertising sign, closing off chase lights, strobes and similar effects even on a sign that otherwise meets the size and location rules. S. 70 or I-95, or whose intensity or brilliance causes glare that impairs a driver's vision or otherwise interferes with safe operation of a vehicle. S. 70 and I-95. For older, nonconforming billboards the rule is absolute: subsection (13) says illumination shall not be added to a nonconforming sign at all, regardless of whether the added light would otherwise meet the glare and shielding standards.
The planning director can treat noncompliant lighting as grounds to revoke a sign's permit under § 14-514(e), and may consult the state Department of Transportation district engineer on any lighting-related revocation.
Violations & Fines
Flashing, intermittent, or moving lights, or glare directed at the traveled way, on an outdoor advertising sign violates § 14-514(b). The planning director can revoke the sign permit for noncompliant lighting, and any Chapter 14 violation on top of that carries a $500.00 misdemeanor fine or 30 days in jail plus a $100.00 civil penalty under § 14-614.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a highway billboard in Johnston County use flashing lights?
What if my billboard's lighting causes glare for drivers on U.S. 70?
Can I add lighting to an older billboard that doesn't meet current standards?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Johnston County
Compare Johnston County to another location·View the North Carolina outdoor lighting overview
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