Solano County, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Rule
- Animated/electronic message signs banned countywide
- Citation
- Sec. 28.96.40(A)(2)
- Exception
- Time/temperature displays not treated as signs
- Enforcement
- Zoning Administrator; infraction under Sec. 28.113(I)
- Fine cap
- Set by Gov. Code Sec. 25132; each day separate
- Appeal
- Notice of violation appealable under Sec. 28.112
- Applies to
- All unincorporated zoning districts
Summary
Solano County bans animated and electronic message display signs outright across the unincorporated county. Zoning Code Section 28.96.40(A)(2) lists them among the fourteen sign types the county has 'deemed prohibited,' grouped with variable-intensity, blinking, and flashing displays. The single carve-out is time-and-temperature displays, which the code defines as not signs at all, so no digital billboard can be permitted in any zoning district.
A. Signs that do not further the purposes described in Section 28.96.10 are prohibited. The following types of signs have been deemed prohibited: ... 2. Animated signs, including electronic message display signs, and variable intensity, blinking, or flashing signs, except time and temperature displays (which are not considered signs);
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 1868, passed April 9, 2026).
Full Breakdown
10 (traffic safety, aesthetics, and public welfare) is prohibited outright, then lists fourteen categories. Subsection (A)(2) targets 'animated signs, including electronic message display signs, and variable intensity, blinking, or flashing signs' by name, so LED billboards, digital reader boards, and scrolling-message panels are barred whether they sit on a business's own lot or along a public road. The same list separately bans off-premises signs (A)(7) and oversized pole signs (A)(8), which forecloses the two formats most digital billboard operators would otherwise try. 40(A)(2) expressly says 'are not considered signs' and therefore fall outside the ordinance entirely.
40 is absolute rather than a numeric or discretionary limit. The regulation was adopted by Ordinance No. 1840, Section 40, and carried forward by Ordinance No. 30(A) makes the sign chapter apply countywide rather than district by district.
Violations & Fines
Section 28.96.120 declares any sign installed in violation of Section 28.96 a public nuisance and routes enforcement through Section 28.113. Under Section 28.113(E), the Zoning Administrator issues a notice of violation specifying the corrective action and deadline; Section 28.113(I) makes the violation an infraction with a fine up to the limit set by Government Code Section 25132, and each day the sign remains up is a separate offense. The county may also pursue civil injunctive relief or, under Section 28.113(G)-(H), administrative penalties and abatement per Chapter 10. Notices of violation can be appealed under Section 28.112.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business install a digital billboard in unincorporated Solano County?
Does the ban cover time-and-temperature displays too?
What happens if someone installs a prohibited electronic sign anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Solano County
California rules heatmap·Compare Solano County to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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