Marion, OH Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

The Marion Codified Ordinances define an advertising sign as a sign that directs attention to a use, commodity or service not related to the premises on which it is located, including a billboard. Lighting for these signs is controlled in four places.

First, § 1161.042(E) allows advertising signs to be illuminated but requires any illuminated sign to be constructed and maintained so the source of illumination is shielded or otherwise prevented from beaming into adjacent lots or streets. Second, § 1161.012 bars light sources for illuminated signs from being so bright that they constitute a hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and it prohibits any rotating beam, beacon or flashing illumination resembling an official traffic control or emergency light in connection with a sign display. Third, § 1161.027(A) requires the source of light to be shaded or concealed so it is not a source of safety or health hazard wherever illumination is permitted.

Fourth, digital or electronic advertising signs carry extra duties under § 1161.042(G)(2). They must have and use automatic dimming devices that adjust brightness to the ambient light at all times day and night to prevent glare on surrounding properties. They cannot use red, green or blue lights that resemble highway traffic signs or devices, and no advertising display can be illuminated by rapid flashing or intermittent lights. Each such device must contain a default design that freezes it in one position if a malfunction occurs, and all signs must comply with the Ohio Department of Transportation requirements for advertising signs, which the code incorporates as if fully re-written.

A billboard in a C or I district within 100 feet of an R, O-I or O-I-A district also answers to § 1161.011(E), which bars any flashing device producing objectionable changes in light intensity or color noticeable from within the adjoining district. Section 1161.042(D)(3) ties advertising signs to that section. The Safety/Service Director enforces the zoning code under § 1175.01.