Lee County, NC Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Lee County regulates digital and changeable-copy signage through its standards for signs that require a permit, rather than a dedicated digital billboard chapter. UDO § 11.8.4.4 governs on-premises ground or pylon signs and states that changeable copy or reader board area, along with electronic message board area, is permitted as part of a ground sign, but that area cannot exceed 50 percent of the total area of the sign as computed under Table 11-4. The companion wall-sign provision in § 11.8.2.5 applies the identical 50 percent cap to changeable copy or electronic message board area mounted as a wall sign.

Section 11.8.4.4 also addresses how the electronic component is counted: electronic message board area is normally included when calculating a sign's total area against the district's maximum, but if the board displays only time and temperature information, that message area is allowed in addition to the sign's maximum area rather than being counted against it. This gives businesses an incentive to dedicate part of an electronic display strictly to time-and-temperature content if they want extra digital area beyond the standard cap. Because digital displays are treated as a feature of an already-permitted ground or wall sign rather than a separate sign type, a business cannot install a freestanding digital sign without first meeting the applicable size, height, and number limits in Tables 11-1 through 11-4 for its zoning district, then applying the 50 percent changeable-copy cap on top of those base limits. Community Development reviews the calculation as part of the sign permit application required under § 11.3.