Ridgewood, NJ Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

§ 190-122, Signs, opens its general prohibitions in Subsection B(1) with a flat ban: billboard or billboard signs are prohibited village-wide, with the sole exception of a display sign customarily erected on railroad station premises or right-of-way in the vicinity of the station. That prohibition alone rules out standalone digital billboards. The code layers on a second, independent bar in § 190-122B(4)(a): no sign of any kind may be lighted by flashing or intermittent illumination, and neon signs with a visible tube, plus LED signs and similar signs when the light source or illumination device is visible, are prohibited unless specifically permitted elsewhere in the chapter.

Because an electronic message display necessarily changes its image and typically exposes an LED light source, both prohibitions apply independently to any changeable digital sign face, not just to freestanding billboard structures. Illumination generally is capped at 75 footcandles measured at the sign under § 190-122B(4)(c), and the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment must review and approve the light intensity of any illuminated sign that is part of a site plan application under B(4)(d). No specific exception for a municipal, transit or gas-price digital display appears in this section beyond the narrow permitted signs already listed in Subsection A.