Canton, OH Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Section 1187.13 of the Canton Codified Ordinances governs digital display signs known as Electronic Message Units. Applicants must submit a manufacturer affidavit certifying the sign is factory pre-set not to exceed 5,000 nits in daytime and 250 nits in the evening, and every EMU must include an automatic light-sensing device that autodims after dark. Only one EMU is permitted per site. In B-3 General Business through I-2 Heavy Industrial districts, an EMU mounted on a free-standing sign must sit on the lower or middle third of a monument sign with a brick or masonry base, and its display must hold each message for at least ten seconds before changing.

Community Service districts, which sit near schools, churches and residential zones, carry stricter limits: an EMU must stand at least twenty feet from any property line abutting Open Space, Community Service or Residential zoning, may not have a direct sight-line to windows of existing homes, and on institutional premises such as schools or houses of worship must display only monochromatic amber or red text on a black background. A Community Service district EMU cannot exceed thirty-two square feet in area or eight feet in height and must be installed as a ground or monument sign. Erecting any sign, including an EMU, requires a zoning permit issued under Chapter 1187, administered by the City's Zoning Inspector.