Yuba City, CA Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

6312 treats electronic message boards as a tightly conditioned use rather than an ordinary sign type. A use permit is required before installation (static fuel-price signs are the sole exception), and the sign is only allowed at all on a parcel or unified development of at least five acres with a minimum of 300 feet of frontage along State Route 99 or State Route 20, known locally as Colusa Highway, which effectively confines true digital billboards to Yuba City's highway commercial corridors rather than neighborhood streets.

Content is restricted to on-site establishments and products; the boards cannot be leased out as general advertising. Every display must be full-color, high-definition LED with a pixel pitch no coarser than 14 mm, and can change its static image no more than once every ten seconds, with transitions appearing instantaneous, no swipes, fades, or animation between images. 3 foot-candles above ambient light, verified on request by an independent contractor's certification delivered to the City within 14 days. and sunrise. New electronic monument signs must sit in a landscaped planter at least twice the size of the sign face, and the share of a monument sign that can carry electronic messaging is capped at half for sites with four or fewer businesses and a third for larger centers.

The City can also commandeer up to 15% of display time, or more in a declared emergency, for Amber Alerts, flood warnings, or other public-safety messages.