Alhambra, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Billboard signs
- Prohibited citywide, no exception
- Animated/flashing signs
- Prohibited except barber poles, time/temp
- Governing section
- AMC § 23.21.050(A), (B)
- Abatement lien example
- $275 late charge plus abatement cost
- Enforcement
- Public nuisance abatement, City Attorney
Summary
Alhambra prohibits billboard signs outright, along with any animated, blinking, or flashing sign, anywhere in the city. The only exceptions to the animation ban are barber shop poles and time-and-temperature signs, so digital or electronic billboard displays have no path to approval.
All signs not specifically permitted, excepted or exempted from the regulations in this chapter are prohibited. Such signs shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (A) Animated, blinking or flashing signs, except barber shop poles and time and temperature signs; (B) Billboard signs;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-25: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 4851, passed 10-27-25).
Full Breakdown
Section 23.21.050 lists prohibited signs citywide, stating that all signs not specifically permitted, excepted, or exempted are prohibited. Subsection (A) bans animated, blinking, or flashing signs, except barber shop poles and time-and-temperature signs. Subsection (B) separately and flatly bans billboard signs, with no exceptions listed. Subsection (D) also prohibits moving or revolving signs except barber shop poles, and subsection (G) prohibits permanent windblown devices and balloons outside the limited allowances in Section 23.21.100(D)(4). Because a digital or electronic billboard would necessarily combine a billboard structure with changeable, illuminated copy, it is caught by both the billboard ban in (B) and the animation ban in (A). Section 23.21.090(B)(3) reinforces this for freestanding signs generally, capping changeable-copy area at less than 50 percent of total sign area, and expressly carves out billboard signs from even that limited allowance, meaning changeable copy on a billboard-type structure is not contemplated at all under the code.
Violations & Fines
An unpermitted or prohibited sign such as a billboard or digital display can be declared a public nuisance under Section 23.21.160 and abated, with the city recording a lien against the property for the late charge (cited at $275 in the code's own lien-notice template) plus its actual abatement costs under Section 23.21.170, and recovering attorney's fees under Section 23.21.250. General violations are also punishable under Section 1.12.010 by a fine set by City Council resolution or imprisonment up to six months, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business put up a digital billboard in Alhambra?
Are electronic message signs allowed anywhere in Alhambra?
What happens if a prohibited sign like a billboard goes up anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alhambra
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