§ 71.18. DISPLAY OF UNAUTHORIZED SIGNS, SIGNALS, OR MARKINGS.

(A) A person may not place, maintain, or display, upon or in view of a highway, roadway, street or alley, an unauthorized sign, signal, marking, or device that:

(1) Purports to be, is an imitation of, or resembles an official traffic-control device or a railroad sign or signal;

(2) Attempts to direct the movement of traffic; or

(3) Hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of an official traffic-control device or a railroad sign or signal.

(IC 9-21-4-4)

(B) (1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, a person may not place or maintain upon a highway, roadway, street or alley a traffic sign or signal bearing commercial advertising. A public authority may not permit the placement of a traffic sign or signal that bears a commercial message.

(2) (a) Under criteria to be jointly established by the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Office of Tourism Development (before July 1, 2020) or the Indiana Destination Development Corporation (after June 30, 2020), the Indiana Department of Transportation may authorize the posting of any of the following:

1. Limited tourist attraction signage.

2. Business signs on specific information panels on the interstate system of highways and other freeways.

(b) All costs of manufacturing, installation, and maintenance to the Indiana Department of Transportation for a business sign posted under this division shall be paid by the business.

(3) (a) Criteria established under division (B)(2) for tourist attraction signage must include a category for a tourist attraction that:

1. Is a trademarked destination brand; and

2. Encompasses buildings, structures, sites, or other facilities that are:

A. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places established under 16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.; or

B. Listed on the register of Indiana historic sites and historic structures established under IC 14-21-1;

(b) Regardless of the distance of the tourist attraction from the highway on which the tourist attraction signage is placed.

(4) A person may not place, maintain, or display a flashing, a rotating, or an alternating light, beacon, or other lighted device that:

(a) Is visible from a highway; and

(b) May be mistaken for or confused with a traffic-control device or for an authorized warning device on an emergency vehicle.

(5) This section does not prohibit the erection, upon private property adjacent to highways, of signs giving useful directional information and of a type that cannot be mistaken for official signs.

(IC 9-21-4-5)

(C) (1) A person may not place, maintain, or display an advertising sign, signal, or device on or over the roadway of a highway.

(2) A person may not place, maintain, or display an advertising sign, signal, or device on a highway in the city between the curb and sidewalk. If the curb and sidewalk join, a person may not place, maintain, or display on the sidewalk an advertising sign, signal, or device closer than ten feet from the curb line. Overhanging signs may not overhang the curb.

(3) A person may not place, maintain, or display an advertising sign or device of any character within 100 feet of a highway outside the corporate limits of an incorporated city or town that obstructs the view of the highway; or an intersecting highway, street, alley, or private driveway; of a person traveling the highway for a distance of 500 feet or less from the sign or device as the person approaches the highway or intersecting highway.

(4) A person may not place, maintain, or display and advertising sign or a device of a permanent or semipermanent character on a highway right-of-way.

(5) Each sign, signal, or marking prohibited under this division is declared to be a public nuisance. The authority having jurisdiction over the highway may remove or cause to be removed the prohibited sign, signal, or marking without notice.

(IC 9-21-4-6) (Am. Ord. 20, 2008, passed 11-3-08)