Wayne, NJ Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

Billboard rules in Wayne Township sit in § 134-63.5 of Chapter 134, titled Billboard signs in the I, Industrial district. Lighting gets one sentence: subsection E says that if a billboard is illuminated, external illumination shall be used. An internally lit billboard box does not meet that wording. The section prints no foot-candle, lumen or hours-of-operation limit for billboards.

Lighting sits beside the physical standards. Subsection A sets maximum height at 24 feet and subsection B sets maximum size at 672 square feet in area. Subsection C requires that no part of the structure be set back closer than 50 feet from the property line and that the billboard be erected on its own foundation. Subsection D requires a clear space underneath of not less than 4 feet for the entire length, and latticing can serve that purpose. Subsection G permits a two-sided sign, and subsection H permits a Vee shape if the separated ends are no more than 20 feet apart.

Subsection F closes off lit digital copy: electronic message centers and changeable copy signs for all or any portion of the billboard sign are prohibited. The Township's definition of an electronic message center states that it does not refer to the internal or external illumination of the sign, to a directly illuminated sign, or to an illuminated sign, so a static billboard with external lighting stays outside that ban.

The brightness cap in the general sign standards, 0.2 foot-candles over ambient light measured within 150 feet of the source in § 134-68.1(J)(2)(e), is written for electronic fuel price signs at automobile service stations, not for billboards. The Township defines a billboard as a sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered at a location other than the lot on which the sign is located.