Laredo, TX Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

City of Laredo Code of Ordinances Sec. 28-28(5), part of the sign ordinance's 'Sign specifications, design and other requirements' article, applies to every illuminated sign in the city, including off-premise billboards regulated separately under Sec. 28-33. Any sign with external illumination must be designed so the light source is shielded, and fixtures that light the sign face cannot project more than eight feet beyond the sign structure. The rule specifically forbids illumination that reflects into adjoining property or spills onto a public street, and it prohibits any illuminated sign, billboard included, on properties along the right-of-way abutting five historic plazas: San Agustin Plaza, Jarvis Plaza, El Mercado Plaza, Bruni Plaza, and St.

Peter's Plaza. Under Sec. 28-49, permits for illuminated or electrical signs may be issued only to a contractor registered with the city as an electrical sign contractor and certified by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; a property owner cannot self-permit an illuminated billboard face. The building development services department, through the sign code administrator named in Sec. 28-21, enforces the illumination standard and may inspect a sign's structural and electrical connections during business hours to confirm shielding compliance. Off-premise sign owners on state-regulated highways face an additional layer: Sec.

28-33 requires a city permit before applying to the Texas Department of Transportation and bars operation without a valid state outdoor-advertising license, so a billboard's lighting and its underlying structure both answer to two permitting tracks. A sign glowing, reflecting, or radiating in violation of the shielding requirement is treated the same as any other sign specification violation under Sec. 28-37.