Bergenfield, NJ Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Borough Code § 186-48M lists signs that are categorically prohibited no matter what zone a property sits in, and billboards head that list. The subsection states flatly that billboards, roof signs, portable A-frame signs, any signs in the public right-of-way, inflatable signs, and signs directing people to open houses or similar activities are prohibited in all zones, a blanket ban rather than a size or lighting restriction that a billboard could be redesigned to satisfy. The same subsection separately bans mechanically retractable awnings and canopies, whether hand- or motor-operated and whether they carry signage or not, again borough-wide.

Because the ban covers 'billboards' as a category without carving out a digital or electronic exception, an LED or electronic message-board billboard is prohibited on the same footing as a traditional static billboard; the chapter's earlier illumination rules at § 186-48C(5), which bar flashing, rotating, or colored sign lighting, would independently block a digital billboard's core function even if the outright ban did not exist. Signs permitted in Business and Industrial Zones are instead limited to the specific forms enumerated in § 186-48H, wall signs, freestanding signs, window signs, and awning/canopy signs, each with its own size and placement caps, none of which extends to freestanding billboard structures.