Marion, OH Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Chapter 1123 of the Marion Codified Ordinances defines a digital or electronic advertising sign as a type of off premise non accessory advertising sign using built in electronic digital messages, whether or not the messages are controlled on site or off site by computer. Section 1161.042(F) permits one only under one of two exceptions and only if it also meets division (G): the sign is within 1000 feet of US 23 in a commercial or industrial district and meets Ohio Department of Transportation requirements, or it is both within a C-3 Central Core Business District and the Downtown Design Review District and approved by the Downtown Design Review Board under Chapter 1185.

Division (G)(1) sets the structure, irrespective of the earlier requirements of § 1161.042. The sign must be erected at least 20 feet above the grade at the base of the sign and can go up to, but not exceed, 40 feet above that grade. The sign dimensions cannot be greater than 12 feet high by 25 feet wide.

Division (G)(2) sets the display rules. The sign cannot have flashing words or drawings and cannot have changeable advertisements or messages that last less than eight seconds. Auditory effects, including music, are not permitted as part of any billboard display. No sign can incorporate movement or the illusion of movement or show a split screen message. Signs cannot contain symbols or words, or red, green or blue lights, that resemble highway traffic signs or devices, and no display can be illuminated by rapid flashing or intermittent lights. The code also calls for a transition to another static image or message over a period of at least one second, a default design that freezes the device in one position if a malfunction occurs, and compliance with Ohio Department of Transportation requirements for advertising signs, incorporated as if fully re-written. Automatic dimming is also required, covered under the lighting rules.

The general advertising sign standards still apply in addition. Section 1161.042(A) allows no more than one sign structure on a lot with less than 200 feet of unbroken frontage on a single street, and two on a lot with 200 feet or more. Section 1161.042(C)(1) caps the total area of all faces of any sign structure at 1,000 square ft.