Promoting community lacrosse events can be tricky in today’s society. What with the restriction of First Amendment free speech, it can be difficult to put up signs in town to support lacrosse events. I think of the part in a movie where a kid hangs a sign in his front yard that says “vote for me for student government”. I’ve never really been that involved in local politics, so I don’t know if that is is it legal to put signs on public property. The movie gives the impression that it might not be. But how did the sign get put out in the first place, if the sign can’t be legally put in in their front yard?

This is one of those moments where you assume that there is an answer to the question – is it legal to put signs on public property. So here we go, we’ll find out what the legality of placing a sign on public property.

This is something that I would not have thought about, if it wasn’t for a Walters & Pisciotta client. Our client is a lacrosse club out of Holt, MI. We recently had an interesting conversation about how he should go about promoting the organization’s upcoming tournament.

The first few questions that he had were: The concept is pretty simple, but executing it can be difficult if you are not aware of the laws and statutes in your area that relate to the promotion that you are trying to do. Let’s do a full run down of the legality of putting signs on public property.

As you probably already assumed, the question of – is it legal to put signs on public property – has a complicated answer. So let’s start with the basics. Each city or town has its own ordinances that dictate the legality of putting signs up in public. In the case of Holt, MI, they have – it seems – the most common setup for sign placement. In short, signs are not allowed to be placed on public property.

However, the police have discretion – which they are most likely only going to use if they are made aware of a sign being illegally placed. So in other words, unless you call to complain about it, they probably will not care. But in the worst case scenario, you might end up with an additional charge or two.

Charities and non-profit organizations appear to be the exception to the rule. If you have permission from the City Treasurer, you are allowed to put up a sign. When you get to the 20/21 day limit, the organization is responsible for taking the sign down. I’m sure that this responsibility comes with fines as well.

The signs have to be taken down shortly after the event in order to avoid being charged with illegal city property. I would recommend not waiting until the appointed date or risk having a possible citation.

The sign will have to be 32″ by 40″, but may be subject to change. Consult with the local township or county signage ordinances for the applicable size.

Frequent the city’s website. The ordinances can be outdated – showing 2003/2004 ordinances as current – so be sure to contact the Municipality for up-to-date ordinances.

The city is giving 34 vendors the ability to promote to the citizens. This is a great opportunity to get local support for a community event.

The new tax law is making it difficult for charitable organizations to operate. More municipalities are looking for alternative ways to support themselves. These could be new signs, advertising programs, or even zoning.

Most cities will fine an organization that puts up a sign without first calling/emailing to pre-approve it, so make sure that you check their websites or call them in advance.

For more information on signage regulations, you can visit the Wikipedia page on signage.

Posted in Uncategorized