Albuquerque, NM Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

The IDO's off-premises sign locations standard, § 14-16-5-12(G)(1), layers several bans on top of each other. First, no off-premises sign may stand within 660 feet of I-25 or I-40 anywhere in the city, regardless of zoning. Second, off-premises signs are prohibited citywide in any Residential zone district and in the MX-T, MX-FB, and NR-PO mixed-use/non-residential districts. Third, even where zoning would otherwise permit one, an off-premises sign is only allowed in the NR-BP, NR-SU, PD, or PC districts if the specific number, size, height, and location were already authorized in the EPC or City Council decision approving that zone district (including any Master Development Plan or Site Plan for the property).

On top of the 660-foot freeway buffer, § 14-16-5-12(G)(1)(e) lists 17 additional named small-area plans, including Coors Boulevard, Downtown, Nob Hill/Highland, Uptown, and North I-25's Alameda Boulevard Sub-area, where off-premises signs are separately prohibited or mapped out entirely. Where an off-premises sign is allowed, § 14-16-5-12(G)(2) requires that a new one be approved only upon removal of an existing off-premises sign and support structure of equal or greater area, located on property of equivalent or less intense zoning, and the sign must meet the dimensional standards in Table 5-12-5.

Electronic off-premises signs face the added illumination and brightness rules in § 14-16-5-12(H). Applicants seeking to install signage near I-25 or I-40 should confirm zoning and freeway distance with the Planning Department's Zoning Enforcement staff before applying, since the 660-foot buffer applies regardless of the underlying zone district.