Moreno Valley, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- New off-site billboards
- Banned citywide since 1998
- Governing ban
- § 9.12.080(A)(3)
- On-site digital copy cap
- 50% of sign copy area
- Blink/change limit
- Once per 3 seconds
- Nonconforming removal window
- 2 to 7 years by value
- Manual changeable copy
- Max 2 colors, clear cover
Summary
Moreno Valley bans construction of any new outdoor advertising display under Section 9.12.080(A)(3), so a new off-site digital billboard cannot be permitted anywhere in the city. On-site signs may use electronic changeable copy instead: Section 9.12.060(A)(2) caps that copy at 50% of the sign's area and bars any change faster than once every three seconds.
A.3. Because outdoor advertising displays have been determined to be a visual blight which is offensive to the aesthetic standards of the community... no new outdoor advertising displays shall be allowed. [§ 9.12.080(A)(3)]
A.2. Changeable Copy. The signs described in this section may include manual, electronic or mechanically activated changeable copy comprising not more than 50% of the sign copy area. Such changeable copy shall not blink, flash or change in appearance more than once in three seconds. [§ 9.12.060(A)(2)]
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4887234; v10 updated 2026-04-07).
Full Breakdown
Moreno Valley treats a digital billboard the way its code treats any "outdoor advertising display": a sign taller than nine feet or wider than five feet that advertises a business, product or service not located on the same parcel. Section 9.12.080(A)(3) declares outdoor advertising displays a "visual blight" that contributes to traffic hazards and states that "no new outdoor advertising displays shall be allowed" anywhere in the city; only displays lawfully in place before Ordinance 545 (1998) survive, and only as legal nonconforming structures. Subsection B bars those survivors from being "structurally altered to extend its useful life" or "expanded in any dimension," which forecloses retrofitting an old static billboard face with an LED digital panel. Nonconforming billboards are not permanent, either: Section 9.12.080(C) ties each one to a removal-without-compensation schedule keyed to fair market value, from two years for a display worth under $1,999 up to seven years for one valued at $10,000 or more, running from the city's written notice.
Digital display technology is not banned citywide, though: it is allowed on the on-site signs the code does permit, such as monument, freeway, and gas station signs. Section 9.12.060(A)(2) lets those signs carry "manual, electronic or mechanically activated changeable copy comprising not more than 50% of the sign copy area," and requires that such copy "shall not blink, flash or change in appearance more than once in three seconds," with manually activated copy limited to two colors behind a clear protective cover.
Violations & Fines
Building or expanding an off-site digital billboard without lawful legal-nonconforming status is a code violation under Section 1.01.200, prosecutable as a misdemeanor with a fine up to $1,000 or six months in county jail under Section 1.01.230, with every day the illegal display remains up counted as a separate offense; the city may also abate it as a public nuisance under Sections 1.01.250 and 9.12.080(D).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a company build a new digital billboard in Moreno Valley?
Can an existing billboard be converted to digital?
Are digital signs allowed at all in Moreno Valley?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Moreno Valley
California rules heatmap·Compare Moreno Valley to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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