Town, Police Asking Candidates to Respect Sign Ordinances

The Town of Bedford recently issued a release asking all candidates running for elected office to respect NH RSA 664:17, which addresses the placement of political signs on town property.

The law states, in part:

No political advertising shall be placed on or affixed to any public property including highway rights-of-way or private property without the owners consent… Political advertising placed on or affixed to any public property may be removed by state, city or town maintenance or law enforcement personnel. Political advertising removed prior to election day by state, city or town maintenance or law enforcement personnel shall be kept for one week at a place designated by the state, city or town so that the candidate may retrieve the items.

Because the Town of Bedford cannot be confident that property owners along town roadways have not authorized political signs on their property, the town will take no action at this time to remove political signs in the town rights-of-way unless:

• The signs are within a traffic island that is entirely with the Town right-of-way
• The signs are obstructing visibility or otherwise causing a public safety concern
• The property owner indicates that the signs were placed there without permission

Last weekm the Bedford Police Department notified political party headquarters and candidates of the applicability of state law and the pending removal of political signs from town property such as town parks, and recreational space, and many political signs have been removed from town property by law enforcement or public works personnel and may be retrieved at the Department of Public Works during regular open hours.

While the town apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the removal of the signs, the actions are in response to complaints about the number and location of political signs and believes that state law prohibits the placement of political signs on public property.

For more information, contact Town Manager Jessie W. Levine at 792-1300 or jlevine@bedfordnh.org.

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