La Plata County, CO Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Section 70-20 of the La Plata County Code sets the sign standards for the county's unincorporated territory, and its purpose clause says the standards reach signs "whether on or off premise." That wording brings roadside advertising signs under the same rules as a business sign at its own storefront. A search of the full Code finds no separate section for billboards, electronic message centers or digital displays, so the general sign rules are the governing text.

The operative limit is the prohibited-signs list in paragraph II.C. Item 6 bans signs containing blinking, flashing, fluttering or intermittent lights, and also bans other devices that create a change in color, brightness or intensity of lighting. The rule is written by effect, not by technology, so any display that changes color or brightness is caught by its words.

Illumination is also controlled by paragraph III.H. The lighting standards apply to internally illuminated signs and to signs lit by direct exterior lighting. All illuminated signs must comply with section 70-7, the county lighting standard. All parts of an electric or illuminated sign must be metal or other non-combustible material, and colored lights cannot be used in any location or manner that could create confusion with traffic-control devices. Neon is capped at 15 square feet per sign.

Size limits apply to any large sign. Wall and freestanding signs cannot exceed 150 square feet each, the aggregate area on a lot or parcel is capped at the lesser of 200 square feet or 2 square feet per linear foot of frontage, and on nonresidential or mixed-use lots a freestanding sign cannot exceed 25 feet in height. Signs over 10 feet high or 40 square feet in area need an engineer's certification for anchorage and wind load. Most of the county is unzoned, and these sign standards still apply across the unincorporated area.