A notice arrives about a hearing for a new billboard a few blocks away. Or a sign company calls the owner of a commercial lot you own, offering rent for a spot on the corner. Either way, the first question is the same: what does Torrance actually allow?
Short answer: In Torrance a billboard needs a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission plus a sign permit (§ 911.9.020). It may go only in commercial, industrial or public use zones, at least 200 feet from schools, libraries, churches and public parks (and, in commercial or industrial zones, from any home), with faces up to 700 square feet and a height up to 42 feet (Article 9).
Key numbers
| Rule | The number | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Largest face, standard billboard | 700 sq ft | § 911.9.030 |
| Maximum height | 42 ft from the ground; never on a roof | § 911.9.040 |
| Distance from any residential building | 200 ft (billboard in a commercial or industrial zone) | § 911.9.060 |
| Distance from parks, schools, libraries, churches | 200 ft | § 911.9.060 |
| Spacing between billboards on the same street | 500 ft, and no more than 3 in 1,500 ft on one side | § 911.9.100 |
| Largest face, digital billboard | 1,000 sq ft | § 911.10.020 |
| Digital billboard height | up to 80 ft, at least 40 ft above the nearest freeway lane | § 911.10.020 |
| Spacing between digital billboards | half a mile, unless a development agreement says otherwise | § 911.10.020 |
| Minimum time per digital message | 8 seconds | § 911.10.020 |
| Sign allowed on a residential lot | one unlighted sign up to 12 sq ft, only for sale, lease or rent | 92.2.3 |
What counts as a billboard
Torrance defines a billboard as a sign or outdoor display used for advertising, with three exceptions: signs advertising the sale or lease of the property they stand on, signs naming the owner or occupant of the premises, and signs advertising goods or services sold on that same property (§ 911.2.060). In plain terms, a billboard advertises something that happens somewhere else. A store's own sign out front is not a billboard.
Getting one approved
No billboard can be built without an approved conditional use permit (a discretionary approval decided at a public hearing) and a sign permit (§ 911.9.020). Anything the billboard rules do not specifically permit is prohibited.
When the Planning Commission decides, it weighs whether the billboard would harm the public welfare, fit with nearby properties, look out of scale, sit too close to other billboards, and throw light or glare onto homes. The applicant has to show, through a light study or similar evidence, that glare will not intrude on residential areas (§ 911.9.020).
The city is open about its long-term goal. The stated purpose of these rules includes working "to eventually eliminate nonconforming billboards from the City" (§ 911.9.010). A nonconforming billboard is one that was legal when built but does not meet today's rules.
Where billboards cannot go
- Zones: only commercial, industrial or public use zones (§ 911.9.070). A billboard cannot be placed in a residential zone.
- Near homes and community places: at least 200 feet from any building used as a residence, and from any public recreation area, public or parochial school, public library or church (§ 911.9.060).
- On roofs: no billboard may sit on the roof of a building (§ 911.9.040).
- Over public property: no part of it may hang over or encroach on public property (§ 911.9.120).
- Blocking neighbors' signs: it cannot block the view of existing signs for businesses on adjacent property (§ 911.9.080).
- Landscaped freeways: not next to a landscaped section of freeway if it is meant mainly for drivers on that section (§ 911.9.130).
How it has to look and light up
A billboard gets one support, made of steel and architecturally treated; unpainted steel and wood supports are not allowed. The back of a single-faced or V-shaped billboard, if visible from a street or neighboring property, must be screened (§ 911.9.090). Lighting must be indirect, cannot face any residential building, and cannot flash (§ 911.9.110).
Digital billboards are a separate, narrower category
A digital billboard in Torrance is an LED-style display next to a freeway. It is allowed only on city-owned property zoned commercial or manufacturing, and only as part of a development, lease or similar agreement with the city that includes fees and public benefits (Article 10).
The development standards add their own limits: at least 200 feet from residential property lines, no more than two faces, messages that hold for at least 8 seconds with no motion or video, and a switch straight from one message to the next with no dark gap. At night the screen may be no brighter than 0.3 foot-candles above surrounding light, controlled automatically by a light sensor. At least 10 percent of the ad time goes to civic and nonprofit messages, graffiti must be removed within 48 hours of the city's call, and the structure must be refurbished every 25 years (§ 911.10.020).
Existing billboards cannot simply be upgraded:
"No existing billboard shall be converted to an electronic billboard." — Torrance § 911.9.140
What this means if you live nearby
Because of the 200-foot rule, a standard billboard in a commercial or industrial zone cannot be placed closer than 200 feet to your house, and a digital one cannot be within 200 feet of a residential property line (Article 9, Article 10). Every new billboard also goes through a Planning Commission hearing, which is where neighbors can raise concerns about size, spacing and glare.
On your own residential lot, the only freestanding sign the zoning allows is one unlighted sign up to 12 square feet, at least 10 feet from any property line, about renting, leasing or selling that property (92.2.3). And you cannot park a vehicle carrying advertising so that it works as a billboard (§ 911.6.070).
What these rules do not cover
The code sections behind this post do not set a deadline for removing existing nonconforming billboards, does not list the city's permit fees, and does not explain the state's own outdoor advertising rules beyond noting that digital billboards must follow them (§ 911.10.020). For those, ask the Torrance Community Development Department. The Torrance overview gathers the city's other rules.
Sources
- Torrance Sign Code, Article 9 — Billboards (§§ 911.9.010–911.9.150)
- Torrance Sign Code, Article 10 — Electronic/Digital Billboards (§§ 911.10.010–911.10.020)
- Torrance Sign Code, Article 2 — Definitions (§ 911.2.060)
- Torrance Sign Code, Article 6 — General Provisions (§ 911.6.070)
- Torrance Zoning Code 92.2.3 — signs in residential zones
