Aliso Viejo, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

In the City of Aliso Viejo, the Orange County city governed by the Aliso Viejo City Council, there is no digital billboard category to apply for. Section 15.34.170(A) of the Aliso Viejo Municipal Code prohibits billboards or outdoor advertising signs (item 2), any off-premises sign or sign advertising a business not on the property where it stands (item 1), and flashing, animated or pulsating signs, laser lighting or searchlights (item 4). Item 7 adds rotating signs or other signs with mechanical movement, and item 16 adds signs that constitute a nuisance or hazard due to their light intensity. Section 15.34.060(C) backs this up: all signs must sit on the same premises as the land use or activity they identify unless the chapter expressly permits off-premises placement.

The electronic signs that do exist are on-premises exceptions written into the sign tables. Under Table 15.34.120, a freestanding monument identification sign in a nonresidential district can be electronic only for associations with over 100 acres of aggregate area, colleges and government facilities. That monument sign is held to 40 sq./ft. per sign and 6 ft. including base unless a master sign program says otherwise. Footnote 1 to the table limits electronic copy to letters, numbers and logos and states that no electronic or other signs may incorporate pictures, flashing copy, or animated visual effects, with the stated purpose of mitigating distractions to motorists. For projects under 100 acres the copy must be static, which means it cannot scroll, crawl, dissolve or incorporate any other movement. Only projects over 100 aggregate acres can use static, scrolling, crawling or dissolving copy.

Gas and service stations get a narrower exception: the part of the freestanding sign dedicated to gas prices can be digital copy but must remain static. Cinemas and live theaters carry the same footnote 1 limits on electronic signs, with the attractions board excluded.

Every permitted electronic sign needs a sign permit under § 15.34.070, filed with the planning department and reviewed ministerially by the planning director. The director can refer an application to the city council within 10 days after it is complete, and decisions are appealed under § 15.70.080.