Racine County, WI Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Approving authority
- Development services department staff
- Cost threshold
- Waived even above 50% assessed value
- Off-premise changeable-copy setback
- 400 ft from residential zones
- Coverage
- Unincorporated towns that adopted county zoning
Summary
Racine County zoning staff can approve converting an existing nonconforming sign to a digital display without triggering full code compliance, so long as the conversion doesn't make the sign's size, location, or height more nonconforming than it already is.
Notwithstanding section 20-186 et seq., development services department staff is authorized to issue a zoning permit for conversion of an existing nonconforming sign from static to digital display, even if the costs of conversion exceed fifty (50) percent of the equalized assessed value, as long as the sign meets the requirements of this article, and does not otherwise become more nonconforming in its overall size, location or height. A conversion from static to digital display that increases the nonconformity of the overall size, location or height of an existing nonconforming sign will require approval via the site plan review process or a petition for a variance to the zoning board of adjustment.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), a sign loses its legal nonconforming status if the overall size, design, structure, location or height of the sign is altered in any way that makes the sign less in compliance with requirements of this article than it was before alteration.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection 20-1357(f), a zoning permit will be required for any structural alteration, addition, or repair to a legal nonconforming sign. (Ord. No. 2004-190, 3-8-05; Ord. No. 2008-64, 9-16-08; Ord. No. 2020-110, 4-13-21)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 33).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 20-1358(a) of the county zoning code lets development services staff issue a permit converting an existing nonconforming sign from static to digital display, even if conversion costs exceed 50 percent of the sign's equalized assessed value, normally the threshold that forces full compliance. The sign must still meet the article's standards and cannot become more nonconforming in size, location, or height; a conversion that increases nonconformity needs site plan review or a board of adjustment variance instead. Separately, an off-premise changeable-copy sign cannot sit within 400 feet of a residential district it is visible from. This zoning code governs only unincorporated towns that adopted it, not the City of Racine or the county's villages.
Violations & Fines
Converting a sign to digital without meeting these conditions, or altering a nonconforming sign so it becomes more nonconforming, is enforceable by the county zoning administrator through forfeiture actions and injunctions under Wis. Stat. § 59.69(11).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I convert my existing sign to a digital display in Racine County?
Does Racine County's sign code apply inside the City of Racine?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Racine County
Compare Racine County to another location·View the Wisconsin sign regulations overview
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