Palmdale, CA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Screening
- Frame, supports & lighting screened from view
- Prohibited
- No flashing, blinking, or animated lighting
- DAD brightness cap
- 150 nits max, sunset to sunrise
- Sensor
- Photometric sensor required on every DAD
- Enforcement
- City can restrict intensity further on complaint
Summary
Every outdoor advertising structure in Palmdale must be built so its lighting and support frame are screened from public view, and it can carry no flashing, blinking, or animated lighting under PMC § 17.88.150(C)(5). Digital displays face an added limit: a photometric sensor must cap nighttime brightness at 150 nits under § 17.88.150(E)(4).
Design. The outdoor advertising sign structure shall not be supported by more than one supporting post. It shall be architecturally treated so as to screen the frame, support structures and lighting from public view. The outdoor advertising sign structure shall not contain any flashing or blinking material, or mechanically activated or animated devices... Each DAD shall include a photometric sensor that will adjust the intensity of the sign for daytime and nighttime viewing. The intensity from sunset to sunrise shall be limited to 150 nits. The City may modify or further restrict the intensity of any DAD should the lighting create a distraction to drivers or an adverse effect on nearby residential properties.
Full Breakdown
PMC § 17.88.150(C), the development standards for outdoor advertising sign structures (billboards) in Chapter 17.88, treats lighting as part of the mandatory design review under subsection (C)(5). Every billboard, digital or static, must be architecturally treated so as to screen the frame, support structures and lighting from public view, and the structure cannot contain any flashing or blinking material, or mechanically activated or animated devices; that design finding is one of the Planning Commission's conditional use permit approval criteria under § 17.88.150(A)(3). The same subsection requires the sign to withstand a minimum wind pressure of 21 pounds per square foot and be supported by no more than one post, folding lighting screening into the structure's overall engineering and design review rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Digital advertising displays carry a second, quantified lighting standard on top of the general screening rule. Under § 17.88.150(E)(4), each DAD must include a photometric sensor that automatically adjusts the display's intensity for daytime versus nighttime viewing, and from sunset to sunrise the intensity is capped at 150 nits. The City reserves authority to modify or further restrict a DAD's intensity if the lighting creates a distraction to drivers or an adverse effect on nearby residential properties, meaning the 150-nit ceiling is a maximum, not a safe-harbor floor. Any billboard or DAD within 660 feet of a state highway must additionally comply with the California Outdoor Advertising Act's lighting and placement restrictions, which control over the local standard in a conflict.
Violations & Fines
A billboard with exposed, unscreened support lighting, flashing or animated lighting effects, or a digital display running brighter than 150 nits after sunset breaches PMC § 17.88.150(C)(5)/(E)(4); the City can condition or revoke the conditional use permit, and can order a DAD's brightness reduced further on a documented driver-distraction or residential-impact complaint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a billboard's support lighting be visible from the street?
Is there a brightness limit for digital billboards at night?
Are flashing or blinking billboard lights allowed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palmdale
California rules heatmap·Compare Palmdale to another location·View the California outdoor lighting overview
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How other cities in Los Angeles County handle billboard lighting.