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Redondo Beach, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Heavy Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Billboards
Prohibited citywide, § 10-2.1818(g)
Animated/digital signs
Banned except narrow LED exception
LED display eligibility
Theater (1,000+ seats) or school site only
Operating hours limit
Off midnight (or 8 p.m.) to 6 a.m.
Harbor/Pier exception
One digital sign, four static directories
Nonconforming billboard removal
Amortization period ended June 6, 1996

Summary

Redondo Beach outlaws billboards outright, and the ban reaches digital displays too: Section 10-2.1818 lists 'Billboards' among prohibited signs and separately bars animated signs, exempting only barber poles, time-temperature signs, and the narrow electronic message displays approved under Sections 10-2.1814 and 10-2.1815.

(c) Animated signs, except barber poles and time-temperature signs, and electric message display signs permitted pursuant to Section 10-2.1814 and 10-2.1815; ... (g) Billboards;

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4889554; v14 updated 2026-05-12).

Full Breakdown

1815. Those two carve-outs are narrow by design. if it faces anything but a major arterial. 1815 opens a second, geography-specific door: within the Harbor/Pier Special District along North Harbor Drive between Portofino Way and North Pacific Avenue, the City allows exactly one electronic message display sign with Harbor Commission Design Review, plus up to four static electronic directory signs no larger than four feet by six feet. 2006(b) requires removal of a nonconforming billboard on a change in illumination, structure, or use, if it is more than 90% destroyed, if its use lapses for a year, if the Chief Building Official calls it unsafe, or because the five-year amortization period the City set under Ordinance 2617 ran out on June 6, 1996.

Violations & Fines

Erecting a new billboard, digital or static, violates Section 10-2.1818 outright and cannot be approved through any design review track. Community Development can order it removed as a prohibited sign, and because posting a prohibited sign is a Code violation, Section 1-2.01 makes it a misdemeanor, up to a $1,000 fine or six months in jail or both, with each day the sign stays up counted as a separate offense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are digital billboards legal in Redondo Beach?
No. Section 10-2.1818 bans billboards outright, and its ban on animated signs reaches electronic and digital displays too, unless the narrow exceptions in Sections 10-2.1814 or 10-2.1815 apply, which cover only theater and school sites or the Harbor/Pier Special District.
Can any property put up an LED sign?
Only a site with a live performance theater seating 1,000 or more people, or a school, can get an electronic message display approved under Section 10-2.1814, and even then it is capped at 120 or 60 square feet, must run white-on-black text, and cannot advertise off-site products or businesses.
What happens to a billboard that was already there before the ban?
It became nonconforming and lost its protection once the City's five-year amortization period ended on June 6, 1996 under Ordinance 2617. Section 10-2.2006(b) also forces removal earlier if the sign changes, is more than 90% destroyed, goes unused for a year, or is ruled unsafe.
Is there anywhere in the City that allows a digital sign near the water?
Yes, in a limited way. The Harbor/Pier Special District along North Harbor Drive between Portofino Way and North Pacific Avenue can carry one electronic message display sign with Harbor Commission Design Review, plus up to four static electronic directory signs no larger than four by six feet, under Section 10-2.1815.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Redondo Beach

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