Santa Clarita, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing zone
- BR overlay zone, within 300 ft of I-5/SR-14 centerline
- Minimum image duration
- 8 seconds per still image
- Digital billboard separation
- 2,500 feet minimum, same freeway side
- Max sign area
- 700 sq ft per face
- Max structure height
- 65 feet from lowest adjacent grade
Summary
Santa Clarita only allows digital billboards inside the BR (Billboard Relocation) overlay zone along I-5 and SR-14, and only under a Council-approved billboard reduction and relocation agreement. Each display may only show still images held for at least 8 seconds, with no motion, flashing or traveling lights.
7. Digital Billboards. The Council may approve a billboard reduction and relocation agreement or development agreement that authorizes the construction and use of digital billboards subject to the following additional provisions: ... b. Duration of Images. A digital billboard may display only a series of still images, each of which is displayed for at least eight (8) seconds. The still images may not move or present the appearance of motion and may not use flashing, scintillating, blinking, or traveling lights or any other means not providing constant illumination. c. Separation. No digital billboard may be placed within two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet of another digital billboard on the same side of the freeway or highway.
Full Breakdown
Digital billboards are not a by-right use anywhere in Santa Clarita. 005 creates the BR overlay zone, which applies only to commercial or industrial zoned property within 300 feet of the centerline of Interstate 5 or State Route 14. Off-site signs (billboards) are permitted there only under an approved billboard reduction and relocation agreement or development agreement, and Subsection (D)(7) lets the City Council authorize digital billboards as part of that agreement, subject to added conditions. Under Subsection (D)(7)(b), a digital billboard may display only a series of still images, and each image must stay up for at least 8 seconds; the code bars any appearance of motion, and prohibits flashing, scintillating, blinking, or traveling lights or any other technique that avoids constant illumination.
Subsection (D)(7)(c) requires a minimum 2,500-foot separation between any two digital billboards on the same side of the freeway or highway, and the applicable relocation or development agreement can impose an even greater buffer. General billboard standards under Subsection (D)(2) also cap sign area at 700 square feet per face (one or two faces), and Subsection (D)(5) caps overall structure height at 65 feet, measured from the lowest adjacent grade, with a minimum 8-foot clearance under any horizontal structural member. ), and that state law controls if it conflicts with the local standard.
Violations & Fines
Because digital billboards exist only through a negotiated billboard reduction and relocation agreement or development agreement, a display installed or operated outside an approved agreement, or one that violates its still-image, spacing or size terms, is treated as a breach of that agreement and an unpermitted sign subject to the City's general sign and zoning enforcement remedies, including a stop-work or removal order from the Planning Division and civil penalties under the Municipal Code's general enforcement chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business put up a digital billboard anywhere in Santa Clarita?
Can a digital billboard show video or animation?
How far apart must two digital billboards be in Santa Clarita?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Clarita
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Clarita to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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