Gordon County, GA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

The digital billboard rules are in the Unified Land Development Code § 5.04.05(E), Freestanding Outdoor Advertising Signs (Billboards). Billboards are permitted only in the C-H, I-1, or I-2 zoning districts, on lots that meet the county's standards for development, especially minimum lot size and minimum road frontage. Every sign under § 5.04.05 requires a sign permit, and signs on I-75 or a state route must also comply with O.C.G.A. § 32-6-70 et seq.

Digital copy is allowed only for billboards having frontage on Interstate 75. Those signs must hold each message for a minimum dwell time of ten seconds with only static copy, contain a default design that freezes the image if a malfunction occurs, transition to the next static message in three seconds or less, and adjust display brightness as ambient light changes. Automated changeable copy signs using digital technology must be at least 5,000 feet from all other such changeable message signs on the same side of a highway or road, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, compared with 1,500 feet between ordinary billboards. All billboards can be lit directly or indirectly, but animation, flashing lights, scrolling, and intermittent or full-motion video are prohibited.

Size and siting limits come with the permit. A billboard on I-75 frontage is allowed 672 square feet with height set by the state, while one on a state or county road is limited to 300 square feet and 30 feet in height. Setbacks are 50 feet from all rights-of-way and 25 feet from other property lines and buildings. Each sign must stay 500 feet from any single-family or multi-family zoning district and 300 feet from the property boundary of an officially designated historical site or monument, unless the sign pertains to that site.

The New Echota and Resaca Battlefield overlay districts prohibit electronic or changeable message signs and billboards outright. The older Code of Ordinances § 13-10(f) also bars direct illumination and any animation, neon, or running or flashing lights on off-premises signs, and reads more restrictively than the ULDC on this point.