Citrus County, FL Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Citrus County regulates billboard illumination through its changeable-copy sign standards in Chapter Nine, Section 9240(B), which the billboard-specific rules in Section 9290 pull in by cross-reference: Section 9290(C)(2) states that an automatic changeable facing on a billboard is allowed but 'shall be subject to the provisions of Section 9240 of this LDC ... addressing Flashing Signs, Moving Signs, and Changeable Copy Signs.'

Section 9240(B) requires every electronic or digital display unit message board to have an installed ambient light monitor that automatically adjusts the board's brightness to outside light conditions at all times. On top of that automatic-dimming requirement, Section 9240(B)(4)(b) sets hard brightness ceilings: no more than 5,000 nits measured from the billboard's face at maximum brightness during daylight hours, and no more than 500 nits measured the same way between dusk and dawn, defined in the LDC as the period between sunset and sunrise. The same subsection requires message or image changes to occur no more often than every eight seconds, with no flashing, scintillation, or fading effects, and any malfunctioning changeable-copy board has to be repaired or disconnected within 48 hours by its owner or operator.

Billboards themselves are further restricted under Section 9290 to the GNC, LIND, and IND land use districts, with height, spacing, and setback limits layered on top of the lighting standard above. This chapter of the LDC governs unincorporated Citrus County only; a billboard inside Crystal River or Inverness is regulated under that city's own sign code.