Peoria, AZ Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Exempt fixture
- Bottom-mounted outdoor advertising lighting only
- Required safeguard
- Permanent automatic shutoff device mandatory
- Curfew
- Must go dark 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Related footnote
- Internally lit translucent signs also skip shielding
- Governing section
- Peoria City Code § 20-65(e)
- Penalty for noncompliance
- Class one misdemeanor, $100 minimum fine
Summary
Peoria carves out a narrow exception to its shielding code for billboard lighting: bottom-mounted outdoor advertising fixtures skip the Table 20-60 shielding and filtering standards, but only if they run on a permanent automatic shutoff and go dark between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Internally lit translucent sign faces are exempt from shielding under a separate table footnote.
(e) Bottom-Mounted outdoor advertising lighting is exempt provided the lighting is equipped with a permanent automatic shutoff device and the lights shall not be operated between the hours of eleven o'clock (11 p.m.) and six o'clock (6 a.m.).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-9: Supplement contains: LLocal legislation current through Ord. 2026-15, passed 6-16-26).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 20-61(a) lists "Billboards and other signage (advertising or other)" among the outdoor fixtures the Outdoor Light Control Code otherwise regulates alongside floodlights, parking lot lighting, and landscape lighting. Table 20-60, referenced in Sec. " Sec. m. That mirrors the citywide advertising-searchlight curfew in Sec. 20-64, keeping all illuminated advertising, whether a floodlight or a bottom-mounted billboard fixture, dark during the same overnight window. A billboard light that is top-mounted, lacks an automatic shutoff, or runs past curfew does not qualify for the Sec. 20-65(e) exemption and must instead meet the full Table 20-60 shielding and filtering standard like any other outdoor fixture, with plans submitted to the Community Development Department under Sec. 20-63 as part of the permit process.
Violations & Fines
An outdoor advertising fixture that lacks the required automatic shutoff or stays lit past 11 p.m. loses its Sec. 20-65(e) exemption and falls under the full shielding and filtering standard in Sec. 20-62, since Peoria enforces the Outdoor Light Control Code as one ordinance under Sec. 20-67. A violation is a class one misdemeanor with a fine of at least $100 for each offense, and the city treats every day the noncompliant billboard fixture keeps operating as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are billboard lights exempt from Peoria's outdoor lighting shielding rules?
What happens if a billboard light in Peoria stays on past 11 p.m.?
Does an internally lit sign face still need a shield in Peoria?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Peoria
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