Tonawanda, NY Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

The Town Board's sign lighting rule at § 215-34.9.B bans flashing, intermittent, rotating or moving light on any illuminated sign, but it carves billboards out of that constant-intensity requirement, 'other than a billboard sign in conformance with this article,' pointing instead to the billboard-specific standards in § 215-34.18.B. That subsection defines a billboard as any off-premise sign advertising a business, product or activity not located on the site, and its Additional Regulation (2)(a) affirmatively permits billboard signs to use digital technology across their entire allowable sign face, provided all other article regulations are still met.

That digital permission stands apart from the rest of the sign code: § 215-34.19.B caps every other digital sign at 50% of its face area but expressly exempts billboards from that cap, letting a Tonawanda billboard run a full digital face where an ordinary wall or ground sign cannot. All other digital-sign mechanics in § 215-34.19 still bind a digital billboard, though: Subsection D requires static messages with no animation, no effects simulating animation and no video, and Subsection E limits how often the display can change to no more than once every 60 seconds. The Building Department's Code Enforcement Officer administers sign permits under Chapter 215 and can require removal of a noncompliant sign under § 215-34.11.C.