Green Bay, WI Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit
- Conditional use required
- Brightness cap
- 0.3 fc over ambient
- Timing
- ≤1 sec transition, ≥8 sec hold
- Mitigation
- 5 pts/face via billboard removal
Summary
Green Bay only allows digital billboards as a conditional use, with message transitions under a second, an eight-second minimum display time, automatic dimming, and a mitigation requirement tied to removing older billboards.
The transition time, or the time it takes to change the message (electronically, via louver rotation, or other means) shall be one second or less. The time the message remains in a fixed position shall be eight seconds or more, and movement or animation is prohibited. ...Electronic multiple message signs (digital billboards) shall be equipped with automatic dimming capability, and light produced by such signs shall not exceed 0.3 foot-candles over ambient light levels.
Full Breakdown
Digital billboards fall under Green Bay's 'multiple message sign' rules and are permitted only as a conditional use in the C1/C2 commercial and LI/GI industrial districts where off-premises signs are allowed at all. Sec. 30-63 requires message transitions of one second or less, each message held at least eight seconds with no animation, automatic dimming, and a brightness cap of 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light (0.2 foot-candles at a residential property line). Because the City's total off-premises sign inventory is frozen at its 1986 count, a new digital billboard must also earn mitigation points by taking down other billboards.
Violations & Fines
A malfunctioning or glaring digital billboard, or one interfering with a traffic signal, must be shut off immediately on the Public Works Director's order and can't restart without City approval, per Sec. 30-63(4).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are digital billboards allowed in Green Bay?
How bright can a Green Bay digital billboard be?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Green Bay
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Digital Billboards in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Brown County handle digital billboards.