Madera, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

02 defines a CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN as a permanent sign, or portion of a sign, with a face panel bearing detachable, interchangeable lettering that can be removed, altered and replaced, but caps how often it may change: a sign changed more than once every 24 hours is reclassified as an animated sign rather than a changeable copy sign, which pulls it out of this more lenient category entirely. 13, a changeable copy sign is allowed only with approval of a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Commission, limited to one per business or business center, and restricted to on-site commercial messages only, meaning it cannot advertise a message for a business located elsewhere.

The code also imposes a 2,000-foot separation: a changeable copy sign is not permitted within 2,000 feet of any other changeable copy sign anywhere in the city, a spacing rule aimed at preventing clusters of these higher-visibility displays along commercial corridors. Where the changeable copy element is mounted on a building, all on-building signage including that element still must not exceed the total on-building signage allowed for the site; the same cap-inclusive rule applies when it is mounted on a freestanding sign. 03(D) at no more than ten candlepower measured ten feet from the sign face, and must be arranged so they create no hazardous glare for drivers or pedestrians.