Glendale, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Municipal Code Sec. 30.33.040(N), (A)
- Billboard definition
- Nonaccessory sign (Sec. 30.33.020)
- Overlay exception
- ASOZ signs under Chapter 30.26 only
- First infraction fine
- Up to $100
- Escalating fines
- $200, then $500 within a year
- Fourth violation
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000/6 months
Summary
Glendale bans digital and electronic billboards citywide. Municipal Code Sec. 30.33.040 outlaws both animated signs (video screens, LED message boards) and non-accessory signs, and a billboard is defined as a nonaccessory sign, so an off-site digital billboard is prohibited twice over outside a designated overlay zone.
Except as permitted under Section 30.33.040, the following signs shall not be permitted, constructed, erected or maintained in the city unless otherwise permitted by this section. A. Animated signs, except as permitted as an approved creative sign or as permitted in Chapter 30.26. This does not include public service signs such as time and temperature units and/or barber poles, or price signs at gas stations... N. Non-accessory signs and sign structures; provided however, that this prohibition on non-accessory signs shall not prohibit ASOZ accessory signs and ASOZ non-accessory signs as permitted in Chapter 30.26 of this title. "Billboard" means a nonaccessory sign as defined in this section.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 30.33 defines a "billboard" as "a nonaccessory sign as defined in this section" (Sec. 30.33.020). Sec. 30.33.040(N) then bans "non-accessory signs and sign structures" outright, which sweeps in every off-site billboard citywide. The same section separately bans "animated signs" under 30.33.040(A), and the Sec. 30.33.020 definition of "animated sign" specifically addresses electronic displays: when an animated sign is allowed as a creative sign it "shall not contain a video screen displaying advertising content in animated or motion picture form or have a changing display/message formed by the selective illumination of an array of individual light bulbs or light emitting diodes (LEDs) displaying text and/or graphic images." That closes off LED and video-screen billboard technology even where a sign is otherwise accessory.
The only carve-out is for signs approved within an Advertising Sign Overlay Zone (ASOZ) under Chapter 30.26, which 30.33.040(N) exempts by name; outside that overlay process there is no path to erect a non-accessory digital billboard. Enforcement runs through the city's general penalty chapter: Sec. 1.20.010(D) lists Sec. 30.33.040 as an infraction, punishable under 1.20.010(B) by a fine not exceeding $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second within one year, and $500 for each additional violation within one year, escalating to a misdemeanor (up to $1,000 and six months) after three violations in a year.
The city attorney can also treat an illegal billboard as a public nuisance and seek abatement or a civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation under Sec. 1.20.050. Variance requests from Chapter 30.33's sign standards go to the hearing officer under Sec. 30.33.070, using the variance procedure in Chapter 30.43.
Violations & Fines
A digital billboard erected without ASOZ approval is cited as an infraction under Sec. 1.20.010(D): up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for each further violation in that year, with a fourth violation charged as a misdemeanor carrying up to $1,000 and six months in jail. The city attorney may also abate the sign as a public nuisance or pursue a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation under Sec. 1.20.050.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business put up an electronic billboard in Glendale?
Does Glendale allow LED or video-screen sign content anywhere?
What happens if someone puts up an illegal digital sign?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
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