Chino Hills, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Chino Hills does not allow digital billboards as a general commercial sign type. CHMC § 16.38.033 permits an electronic changeable message only in public and private institutional districts, and only as part of one permanent freestanding sign per property, with just one electronic message component allowed even if a property has multiple freestanding signs. The freestanding sign carrying the display still has to meet the general standards of § 16.38.032(B) for permanent signage.

The technical limits are specific. The message portion of the sign face cannot exceed sixty percent of the total sign face. The display has to be internally illuminated or self-illuminating (LEDs, fiber optics, or light bulbs), but it cannot change more than once every seven seconds, and the transition between messages is capped at a two-second interval. A brightness sensor is mandatory: the display cannot run more than three-tenths of a foot-candle brighter than ambient light, measured at the closest property line, which keeps it from glaring into neighboring homes at night. The ordinance also bans the visual tricks that make digital displays feel like billboards: no fading, flashing, spinning, revolving, shaking, scrolling, fluctuating light intensity, or sudden transitory bursts of any kind. Any violation of Chapter 16.38's sign standards, including § 16.38.033, is enforceable under § 16.38.080, which lets the city declare a noncompliant sign a public nuisance and remove it.