Lawrence, KS Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Section 5-2022 lists the signs the city bans outright, and billboards, defined elsewhere in the sign code as permanent structures built to display off-premises advertising, are on that list, alongside manually activated changeable message signs, animated signs, flashing signs, scrolling message signs, and travelling message signs. That leaves only one category of true digital signage lawful in Lawrence: the electronic message center (EMC) sign, regulated separately under section 5-2020. EMC signs are limited to the M-2, M-3, CC, PD, IL, IG, and P-1 zoning districts, or to permitted office, community facility, religious assembly, or medical uses elsewhere, and they are barred entirely from the M-1 and CD districts.

m. An EMC sign's face must also be set back at least 200 feet from any adjacent residentially zoned lot measured perpendicular to the sign, and at least 100 feet measured parallel to it. 3 foot candle above ambient light, measured with the sign off and then on at a distance keyed to the sign's square footage. Only static displays are permitted, changing no faster than every three seconds, using dissolving or fading transitions only; scrolling, travelling, flashing, or animated transitions are not allowed on an EMC sign either, even though the sign type itself is legal.