Rocklin, CA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Section 17.75.090.I of the Rocklin Municipal Code sets the illumination ceiling for the city digital freeway sign program created in the same section. Operating within the standard is expressly deemed not to violate the general sign illumination rule at Section 17.75.040.A, which otherwise governs illuminated signs citywide. The brightness cap is 0.3 foot candles above ambient light, tested with a foot candle meter, and the measuring distance is fixed at two hundred fifty feet for a sign with the program nominal face size of fourteen feet by forty-eight feet, so the test point scales with actual sign dimensions.

Every digital freeway sign must have a light-sensing device built in that automatically raises or lowers brightness as ambient daylight or darkness changes, rather than running at a fixed output around the clock. The chapter separately requires each display to fail safe: Section 17.75.090.K requires monitoring so the sign either shuts off or shows a full black image if it malfunctions, preventing a stuck-bright or stuck-message failure from becoming a standing nuisance or safety hazard along Interstate 80 or Highway 65. Because these are off-site freeway-oriented displays rather than standard building or freestanding business signs, this brightness and dimming requirement applies only within the digital freeway sign program itself and does not set the citywide standard for parking lot, building, or security lighting.