Rochester Hills, MI Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Chapter 134 defines an electronic message sign as an electrically activated sign whose variable message capability can be programmed electronically and that does not change more than once every 30 seconds, per Section 134-3. Section 134-4(5)f then sets the operating standards: multi-colored messages are allowed only where the words, letters or pictures show no motion; display areas must automatically dim, with brightness capped at 0.3 footcandles above ambient light measured at a distance keyed to the sign's size, from 40 feet for a display of 15 square feet or less up to 140 feet for a display over 180 square feet; the sign must be programmed to go dark automatically if it malfunctions; and content cannot feature motion or animation, with every message held static for a minimum of 30 seconds and each change from message to message happening instantaneously rather than by fade or scroll.

Displays cannot mimic traffic control signals. Under Section 134-5(2)g, an electronic message component may take up no more than two-thirds of a monument sign's total area, and only freestanding signs, never wall, projecting, hanging or awning signs, may carry electronic message components at all. Off-premises signs, the category covering billboards advertising something not located on the sign's own site, are separately prohibited citywide under Section 134-4(2)f.