Tonawanda, NY Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Town of Tonawanda Code § 215-34.19 governs any sign using digital technology town-wide. Digital display is confined to districts where illumination is already permitted, and under subsection B the extent of a sign's face using digital technology cannot exceed 50%, though the code carves out billboards, which are exempt from this provision and so may use digital technology across the entire allowable face. Subsections C and D bar digital elements from wall, projecting, suspended, awning, and window signs altogether, and require that whatever digital display is used show static messages with no animation, no effects simulating animation, and no video, with copy changes no more than once every 60 seconds under subsection E and each transition occurring immediately with no fade, scroll, flash, spin, revolve, or shake.

Brightness is separately controlled: subsection G requires photosensitive equipment that automatically adjusts brightness to ambient outdoor light, and subsection I caps the difference between the sign's illuminance when off and when displaying a solid message at 0.3 footcandles, measured with an illuminance meter at a distance calculated from the sign's area. Subsection J requires an automatic dimming sensor, and subsection K requires the display to go dark on malfunction. Finally, subsection L bars any digital sign within 50 feet of a residential district or use, measured in a straight line to the nearest residential property line.