Oxnard, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Sec. 16-609 is the only avenue for digital billboards in Oxnard, and it treats them as freeway adjacent digital display billboards rather than ordinary commercial signs. Before one can go up, the applicant needs a special use permit under Sections 16-530 through 16-553 and a statutory development agreement that the city council must approve on the planning commission's recommendation; the agreement has to spell out message cycling, light intensity and any annual payments to the city.

Location is tightly boxed in: Sec. 16-609(B)(1) confines these billboards to city-owned property or right-of-way in non-residential zones within 400 feet of the U.S. Highway 101 right-of-way, and caps the citywide total at four. Sec. 16-609(B)(2) keeps them at least 100 feet from the nearest residentially zoned property line. Height is measured from the pavement level of U.S. 101 itself: the display face can rise no higher than 55 feet, and the structure's overall top can reach no more than 80 feet, per Sec. 16-609(B)(3). Each face is capped at 14 feet by 48 feet and 850 square feet including border and trim, and boards must sit at least 2,000 feet apart under Sec. 16-609(B)(4). Sec. 16-609(B)(5) requires double-faced construction or covered backs with screened equipment, and (B)(6) requires the display to face the freeway. Under the display-cycle rule in (B)(8), each still image must hold for at least eight seconds with no flashing, blinking or apparent motion, and the blank transition between images cannot exceed one second. Approval also requires a council finding of substantial public benefit, such as removing legal nonconforming billboards or making annual payments to the city, per Sec. 16-609(B)(10).