Lewis County, WA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Hazardous illumination
- Prohibited on any sign (§17.142.207(3)(b))
- Flashing colored lights
- Banned outright (§17.142.207(3)(b))
- Fast-revolving signs
- >5 rpm banned (§17.142.207(3)(c))
- Digital billboards
- Banned any size (§17.142.207(3)(d))
- Daily fine
- Up to $250/day (§1.20.070)
Summary
Any illuminated sign in unincorporated Lewis County, billboards included, is prohibited under Lewis County Code § 17.142.207(3)(b) if its glare or method of illumination creates a traffic hazard, obstructs drivers' or pedestrians' vision, or masks an official traffic control device. Flashing or revolving red, green, blue, or amber lights are banned outright on every sign.
(b) Any sign which constitutes a traffic hazard or detriment to traffic safety by reason of its size, location, movement, content, coloring, or method of illumination, or by obstructing the vision of drivers, or by obstructing or detracting from the visibility of any official traffic control device by diverting or tending to divert the attention of drivers of moving vehicles from traffic movement on streets, roads, intersections, or access facilities. No sign shall be erected so that it obstructs the vision of pedestrians. Flashing or revolving red, green, blue or amber lights shall be prohibited on any sign. Any sign, which by glare or method of illumination constitutes a hazard to traffic, shall be prohibited.
Full Breakdown
207(3)(b) targets illumination the same way it targets size, placement, and content: any sign, including a billboard, that becomes a traffic hazard by reason of its method of illumination, or that hides an official traffic control device, is prohibited, and the section separately bans flashing or revolving red, green, blue, or amber lights on any sign, regardless of hazard. A companion clause at (3)(c) bars any sign that revolves faster than five revolutions per minute or uses wind-actuated elements. Billboard lighting is further constrained because Lewis County bans digital billboards of any size outright and caps nondigital billboards at 10 feet high and 22 feet wide under (3)(d), so an internally lit sign large enough to read as a billboard is unlawful before its lighting is even evaluated.
020(3)(e), showing the county applies glare control broadly, not just to signage. 207(2) unless it falls under a listed exemption, and a hazardous or improperly maintained sign can be ordered repaired or removed under (3)(e).
Violations & Fines
A sign whose illumination creates a hazard, or that uses banned flashing colored lights, is unlawful and subject to removal by the county regardless of when it was installed. Violations of LCC Title 17 sign standards are civil infractions and misdemeanors under § 17.07.010, punishable under § 1.20.070 by up to $250 per day and up to 90 days in jail, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business light up its sign at night in Lewis County?
Are illuminated billboards allowed in unincorporated Lewis County?
What happens to a sign with unlawful lighting?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lewis County
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