Kingsport, TN Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Section 114-535 is the City of Kingsport's digital sign rule in Sullivan County, Tennessee, and its seventh item closes the door on digital billboards: electronic message boards shall not be used for off-premises advertising. The interstate billboard standards sit separately in § 114-532, and § 114-529 prohibits any sign of which any part is in motion, flutters or rotates. The section's printed history runs through Ord. No. 6980 of 12-21-2021.

On-premises boards are allowed only in the listed districts. Only one freestanding electronic message board is permitted for each development, and at least one parcel within the development needs a minimum frontage of 150 feet, with the board mounted along the parcel front. The board must be part of the primary freestanding sign and cannot exceed 50 percent of the total sign square footage permitted in the underlying zoning district. Height follows the zoning district. Boards inside a Conservation or Gateway District conform to the Design Guidelines for that district.

Operating limits are specific. Every board carries an automatic dimmer, with brightness capped at 4,000 nits between sunrise and sunset and 1,000 nits after sunset and before sunrise. The city traffic engineer decides whether a board interferes with traffic signal devices. Content is limited to text, images and still pictures. Any display holds for a minimum of five seconds, and each message change finishes within one second, simultaneously, then stays fixed for a minimum five seconds. Boards are not allowed in any historic district designated by the city.

Section 114-536 opens a narrow path for public schools and churches in residential districts: one board per institution on a parcel with at least 150 feet of road frontage on a minor arterial or above, a maximum of 50 square feet per side, and hours from sunrise until it must be turned off completely by 10:00 p.m.