Mendocino County, CA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Sec. 010(E) makes the sign chapter's general regulations apply to all signs, a category that under Sec. 015 includes off-site permanent signs, colloquially billboards, which may be placed only in Limited Industrial, General Industrial, or General Commercial zones. Sec. 010(F) sets the illumination standard those billboards must meet: signs may be illuminated unless a specific rule says otherwise, but must be constructed so that no light bulb, tube, filament, or similar light source is directly visible, meaning the fixture has to be shielded or internally diffused rather than exposed.

The same subsection bans stroboscopic lights, rotary beacons, chasing lights, or any similar device meant to simulate movement, and separately bans flashing or variable-intensity lighting outright, with a narrow carve-out for signs conveying time, temperature, or weather information. Sec. 010(G) adds that no sign may move, revolve, or display moving parts, and bars wind propellers or other noise-making devices. Billboards permitted under Sec. 015 top out at 300 square feet per face and 35 feet in height, and like every other sign must also clear the setback and sight-distance rules in Sec. 010(H), which require unrestricted visibility at street corners and driveways as determined by the County Department of Transportation.