San Marcos, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

320 (Signs on Private Property) and is written to be the chapter's most heavily protected provision: the City Council declared it would have adopted the billboard ban even if every other sign rule in the chapter were struck down, and made the policy independently severable and enforceable even if a court invalidates other parts of the sign ordinance. The rule has two parts. First, it completely prohibits constructing, erecting, or using any new billboard anywhere in the City, exempting only billboards that already legally exist.

4 defines that term, closing off the most common workaround of digitizing a grandfathered static sign rather than building a new one. 120, defines 'billboard' broadly to capture any permanent sign structure used for off-site commercial messages, general advertising for hire, or a use that functions as a standalone profit center rather than an accessory to a business on the same parcel, so a large sign advertising an unrelated company or leased purely for advertising revenue qualifies even if it is not literally labeled a billboard. 3 separately bars expanding, moving, or relocating a nonconforming billboard unless the City Council approves a relocation under Business and Professions Code Section 5412.