El Monte, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Digital billboards are only permitted within Chapter 17.82's Billboard Overlay Zone along the I-10 freeway and Rosemead Boulevard, and only after the operator negotiates and executes a development agreement with the city under Section 17.82.030.A. Within that zone, Section 17.82.040.B sets the operating rules specific to digital displays. No digital billboard may show obscene, indecent, or immoral statements under Business and Professions Code Section 5402 (subsection B.1). Every digital billboard must connect to the National Emergency Network so it can display emergency information, including Amber Alerts, in coordination with local and regional first responders (subsection B.2).

Each static message must hold for a minimum of four seconds before changing, and cannot include flashing lights or varying light intensity (subsection B.3.a-b). If the sign malfunctions, it must be designed to freeze on a static image, show a full black screen, or shut off, rather than glitch or flash (subsection B.4). The sign also cannot simulate or imitate a directional, warning, or danger sign, or use words like 'stop' or 'slow down' in a way likely to be mistaken for traffic control (subsection B.7), and cannot use red or blinking lights that could be mistaken for warning signals or impair drivers' vision on the freeway (subsection B.8).

A digital billboard operated within these criteria is deemed compliant with Caltrans outdoor advertising requirements as well (subsection B.6), and cannot constitute an 'improper display' under Business and Professions Code Section 5304 (subsection B.9).