Blaine, MN Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Blaine City Code Sec. 133-4(12) bans off-premises signs citywide except for billboards permitted under Sec. 133-8. That section limits billboards, generally, to property zoned Light Industrial (I-1, I-1A), Heavy Industrial (I-2, I-2A), Planned Business District (PBD), Community Commercial (B-2), or Regional Commercial (B-3), and restricts them to lots adjoining Interstate 35W and U.S. Highway 10. A standard billboard face may not exceed 700 square feet, with a maximum of two facings back to back, and height is capped at 50 feet above road grade, though the city may allow up to 65 feet by conditional use permit to clear obstructions such as MnDOT sound walls.

For dynamic, electronic message billboards specifically, Sec. 133-8(f) requires each changeable message to display for a minimum of eight seconds and to appear complete, with no message carrying over or leading into the next. Messages cannot be animated, moving, flashing, scrolling, or crawling, which rules out video-style or transitioning content. Any dynamic sign must also carry a public service agreement letting the city broadcast up to 800 eight-second public service messages per month at no cost if it chooses to participate, and the sign must be part of the state's public safety alert system so it can carry emergency messaging.

A billboard also requires a sign permit under Sec. 133-10, and the minimum linear distance between billboards on the same side of a highway is 550 feet, with a 20-foot setback from any property line, a 100-foot setback at intersections, and no billboard within 100 feet of a residential district.