Salem Wants To Tighten Rules On Political Signs

SALEM, MA — A proposed law in Salem would place tighter restrictions on the political signs now seemingly filling every block and byway in the city as the Nov. 5 municipal election approaches. City Clerk Ilene Simons filed the proposed bylaw last month, which calls for new rules on how long before and after the election signs can be posted, limits on the size of political signs and increased fines for people who violate those rules.

But City Solicitor Elizabeth Rennard said her department is drafting proposed changes to the rule to make sure it complies with Reed v. Town of Gilbert, the 2015 Supreme Court decisions that says local governments can't regulate a sign based on content.

"The legal department is proposing changes to the draft submitted by the clerk so that the rules apply to temporary signs regardless of their content. Once the matter is before (city council's Ordinance, Licenses and Legal Affairs subcommittee), we will submit the changes and review with Councilors," Rennard said.

Simons was out of the office this week and could not be reached for comment. Under her proposal, signs would need to come down within 10 days following an election and could be posted no more than 60 days before an election. Current city rules call for the removal of signs 30 days after an election and place no limits on how early they can be put up.

The new rules would also double fines to $10 per day per sign, up to a maximum fine of $100 per sign. They would also limit the size of signs to a maximum of 32 square feet. The new rules would have to be passed by city council before the Nov. 5 election to take effect on Jan. 1, when the next council term starts.

In the Reed ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that municipalities could not impose content-based regulations when it adopted sign ordinances after the Town of Gilbert, AZ passed a sign ordinance that included exemptions for 23 types of noncommercial messages.

That ruling has largely been seen as a handcuff on a city or town's ability to regulate political signs. Last year, for example, Wilmington scrapped plans to adopt an ordinance that would have prohibited posting political signs more than 45 days before an election after Town Manager Jeffrey Hull said the ordinance would be "probably unenforceable" under Reed.