Santa Clara, CA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)
Key Facts
- Daylight brightness cap
- 5,000 nits maximum
- Night brightness cap
- 500 nits, dusk to dawn
- Dimmer requirement
- Auto-dims 30 min before sunset
- Permit required
- Conditional Use Permit, Chapter 18.114
- Review period
- 30-day Director brightness review
- Animation
- Moving or animated images prohibited
Summary
Electronic billboards and other digital display signs in Santa Clara cannot exceed 5,000 nits during daylight hours or 500 nits from dusk to dawn, measured at the sign face, under Title 18 Zoning Code Section 18.42.140. Every such sign needs an automatic dimmer that steps illumination down at sunset and back up at sunrise, plus a Conditional Use Permit.
A. Applicability. This Section applies to all electronic digital display message signs, including billboards (Section 18.42.090) and is intended to implement and comply with the California Outdoor Advertising Act of 2014, California Business and Professions Code Section 5200 et seq., as related to outdoor advertising displays, and Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code, including any amendments as may be adopted from time to time. ... G. Operational standards. 1. Brightness. Light produced by an electronic/digital display message sign shall not exceed a maximum illumination of 5,000 nits (candelas per square meter) during daylight hours and a maximum illumination of 500 nits (candelas per square meter) between dusk to dawn as measured from the sign's face. 2. Dimmer control. Signs shall have an automatic dimmer control to produce a distinct illumination change from a higher illumination level to a lower level for the time period between one half-hour before sunset and one half-hour after sunrise.
Full Breakdown
090, so any electronic or digital billboard face in Santa Clara is bound by its operational standards, not just freestanding digital signs. , and to Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code. Subsection G sets the actual lighting limits: brightness cannot exceed 5,000 nits (candelas per square meter) during daylight hours and drops to a 500-nit ceiling between dusk and dawn, measured from the sign's face. Every sign must carry an automatic dimmer control that produces a distinct step down in illumination beginning one half-hour before sunset and steps back up one half-hour after sunrise; a sign without working dimmer hardware does not comply regardless of the nit reading at any single moment.
The Director also gets a standing 30-day brightness review after a sign goes up and can order the illumination reduced, or the sign turned off during certain evening hours, if it is creating a negative impact on surrounding property, a call made without regard to the sign's message content. 114 before it goes up.
Violations & Fines
A sign that exceeds the 5,000/500-nit brightness caps or lacks a working automatic dimmer is out of compliance with its Conditional Use Permit and subject to the Director's ordered reduction or shutoff during the mandatory 30-day post-installation review under Section 18.42.140(G)(3). Erecting or maintaining any electronic display sign, including a billboard face, without an approved permit is separately unlawful under Section 18.42.010(B) and the sign can be ordered removed under Section 18.42.190.
Frequently Asked Questions
How bright can a digital billboard be in Santa Clara?
Does the digital-sign lighting rule apply to billboards specifically?
Can the City force a digital sign to dim after it's built?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Clara
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Clara to another location·View the California outdoor lighting overview
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Billboard Lighting in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Santa Clara County handle billboard lighting.