Walla Walla County, WA Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

WWCC § 17.28.010.A governs every illuminated sign in the county, and billboards are signs for purposes of this chapter, so the same shading and orientation rule applies to them: light intensity or brightness 'will not be a nuisance to surrounding areas,' and any externally illuminated sign 'shall be oriented away from the surrounding residences, and away from streets.' Section 17.28.010.C further restricts where any sign, illuminated or not, can go at all: signs are permitted in every zoning district except residential districts. Billboards carry an additional zoning filter under § 17.28.040: they are allowed only in industrial, primary agriculture and agriculture residential zones, with billboards along state routes subject to Washington State Department of Transportation permitting, and those along state scenic or historical routes reviewed for compatibility with the route's scenic character where WSDOT does not otherwise have jurisdiction.

Height is capped by district under § 17.28.060: eighty feet in industrial districts, fifty feet in commercial and public reserve districts, and thirty-five feet everywhere else a sign is permitted, including the agriculture zones where billboards are allowed. Every billboard also needs a building permit under § 17.28.070, which applies to 'billboards, outdoor advertising displays and signs' generally. Because these are zoning standards under Title 17, enforcement follows WWCC Chapter 14.13: a notice of violation and order from the community development director, then a $250-per-day civil penalty for uncorrected noncompliance, or a gross misdemeanor with up to 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine for willful refusal to correct.