Riverside, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Default rule
- new billboards completely prohibited citywide
- Digital billboard path
- only via negotiated relocation agreement
- Approval authority
- Riverside City Council, sole discretion
- Governing section
- RMC § 19.623.025, adopted by Ord. 7761 (2026)
- State law overlay
- must meet state Outdoor Advertising Act standards
Summary
Riverside bans new billboard construction outright under RMC § 19.623.020, but § 19.623.025 lets the City Council negotiate individual billboard relocation agreements that may include electronic message displays, consistent with the state Business & Professions Code outdoor-advertising provisions. Any resulting digital billboard must still meet the site, operation, and design standards of applicable state law.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and consistent with the California Business & Professions Code Outdoor Advertising provisions, outdoor advertising signs (billboards) as defined by Chapter 19.910 (Definitions), may be considered and constructed as part of a billboard relocation agreement subject to the following.A.Intent and purpose.a.The purpose of an outdoor advertising sign (billboard) relocation agreement is to reduce the number of billboards in the City by removing existing outdoor advertising signs in exchange for allowing relocation of billboards to more suitable locations, and to provide more attractive, aesthetically pleasing billboard designs and/or electronic message displays.
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
Digital billboards have no by-right path in Riverside. 020, completely prohibits the construction, erection or use of any billboards other than those that were legally existing or permitted before the policy was adopted, and the City Council has declared it would adopt that prohibition even standing alone. 025, adopted by Ordinance No. 7761 in 2026, which authorizes individually negotiated billboard relocation agreements. The stated purpose is to shrink the citywide billboard count by trading removal of existing signs for relocation to better sites, with more attractive, aesthetically pleasing billboard designs and/or electronic message displays offered as an incentive.
Only the City Council can approve a relocation agreement, whether initiated by a billboard operator/property owner or by the City itself, and the Council negotiates every term -- revenue sharing, community benefits, removal ratios, sign type, dimensions, and location -- in its sole discretion. 025(D)(a), meaning California's Outdoor Advertising Act sets the technical ceiling even after local approval. Executing a relocation agreement does not change a billboard's status as a legal nonconforming use for other Code purposes. 030, which expressly bars moving or changing-image display technology.
Violations & Fines
Constructing or operating an electronic billboard display without an executed City Council relocation agreement violates RMC § 19.623.020's blanket prohibition and RMC § 1.01.110: an infraction fine up to $250, or a misdemeanor up to $1,000 and six months in County Jail for a willful or repeat violation, with the City authorized to take immediate abatement action against the unpermitted sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a billboard company build a new digital billboard in Riverside?
Who decides the terms of a digital billboard relocation deal?
Does a digital billboard still have to follow state rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Riverside
California rules heatmap·Compare Riverside to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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Digital Billboards in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle digital billboards.