Rothschild, WI Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Village Code § 590-172B bans flashing, blinking or travelling-light signs and any sign with physically moving parts visible from the right-of-way, but it carves out one exception: electronic reader boards with a changeable message are not subject to that restriction. Section 590-175B then folds those signs into the Village's general electrical-safety rule, requiring floodlighted, internally illuminated and changeable-message signs to be built and installed in strict accordance with all applicable codes. A digital or electronic message sign is not a separate license category here; it is a ground or pole sign that happens to carry a changeable-message face, and § 590-179B says reader boards with a changeable message are counted as part of the total sign area calculation for ground signs and pole signs, both capped at 100 square feet total and 30 feet in height, in commercial, business and office, and industrial districts.

Before installing one, an owner files a sign permit application with the Zoning Administrator under § 590-169, including scale drawings, engineering calculations where required, and the permit fee set in the Village's separate fee schedule. A permit denial can be appealed to the Board of Appeals within 30 days, and the Board must act within 60 days. Building a sign without a permit does not stop enforcement: the Zoning Administrator can order it removed or brought into compliance, and the required permit fee is doubled to cover the Village's added cost of chasing an unpermitted installation.