Royal Oak, MI Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Royal Oak confines billboards to the General Industrial Zone on lots abutting a principal or minor arterial and not subject to a conditional zoning agreement, under § 770-57A, and every billboard must also comply with Michigan's Highway Advertising Act of 1972. Within that zone, § 770-57B sets the spacing standards: no more than three billboards per linear mile of street or highway under § 770-57B(1), and no billboard within 1,000 feet of another billboard on the same street under § 770-57B(2). The residential buffer in § 770-57B(3) is where illumination matters: the base distance from a residential zone or an existing residence is 200 feet, but if the billboard is illuminated, this required distance shall instead be 300 feet. § 770-57B(4) adds a 75-foot setback from any right-of-way property line and a 10-foot setback from interior lot lines.

Height is separately capped at 25 feet above street level under § 770-57C, and surface display area at 300 square feet per face under § 770-57D. If a billboard adds an electronic message component, § 770-57E(2) layers on more lighting-related controls: images must be static, transitions must be instantaneous with no fade or dissolve effects, each message must run at least 30 seconds, and every line of copy must be at least 12 inches tall.