Commerce City, CO Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Sec. 21-8140 of the Commerce City Land Development Code lists prohibited signs, and item (14) is unambiguous: off-premise signs, as defined at Sec. 21-11200, are banned in every zoning district in the city, and the section itself states that no exceptions shall be allowed and no variances may be granted to its limitations. Sec. 21-11200 defines an off-premise sign as one advertising goods or services not provided on the property where the sign is located, which is the standard definition of a billboard. Because Commerce City has no billboard permitting process at all, a business cannot obtain a permit for a digital or static billboard anywhere in the city, including along its highway corridors.

What the code does allow is an on-premise electronic message center under Sec. 21-8330: a single monument or wall sign per property or development may carry electronic message copy, limited to 50 percent of the sign face, with automatic dimming or a solar sensor, and a nit rating the director can cap, never exceeding 600 nits between sunset and sunrise or 5,000 nits (or 0.3 foot-candles over ambient light) between sunrise and sunset. Messages must hold for at least 7 seconds and can only change through a dissolve or fade transition lasting no more than 1 second, with no flashing, scrolling, or animation.

Existing nonconforming signs cannot be converted into an electronic message center, and applications must include the manufacturer's nit specification and compliance documentation before the city issues a sign permit.