Brockton, MA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Brockton created a standalone electronic-sign category in § 27-73 specifically to let digital billboards line the Route 24 corridor while keeping them out of the rest of the city. A board is defined as a sign that changes its message 'at intervals by programmable electronic, digital, or mechanical processes or remote control,' and every one of them needs a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals; the general sign standards in §§ 27-65 through 27-67 don't apply to them at all.

Location is tightly controlled: boards are permitted only in the C-2, I-2 and I-3 zones on parcels that directly abut Route 24, must be oriented for visibility from the highway, and can't stand within 1,000 linear feet of an existing board on the same side of the road. Only permanent, freestanding structures qualify, capped at 100 feet in height and 672 square feet of display face, and set back at least 10 feet from every property line and building. A board may be one-sided, two-sided, or V-shaped to face both directions of traffic, but it can't revolve.

Section 27-73(7) bans animation, scrolling, flashing, video, sound, pyrotechnics, tri-vision panels and anything that could be confused with a traffic signal. Brightness must follow the state's billboard regulations at 700 CMR 3.00, and the board can't glare onto residential property or a public way. Before the Zoning Board of Appeals can issue the permit, the applicant must also sign an 'Impact Agreement' with the mayor, which can require monetary compensation or dedicated public-service announcement time for the city or local nonprofits.