(A) A person may not place, maintain, or display upon or in view of any highway an unauthorized sign, signal, marking, or device that:
(1) Purports to be, is an imitation of, or resembles an official traffic-control device or railroad sign or signal; or
(2) Attempts to direct the movement of traffic; or
(3) Hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official traffic-control device or a railroad sign or signal. (IC 9-21-4-4)
(B) Except as provided in IC 9-21-4-5(b), a person may not place or maintain upon a highway 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.
(C) Under criteria to be jointly established by the State Department of Transportation and the Office of Tourism Development (before July 1, 2020) or the Indiana Destination Development Corporation (after June 30, 2020), the Department of Transportation may authorize the posting of any of the following:
(1) Limited tourist attraction signage; and
(2) Business signs on specific information panels on the interstate system of highways and other freeways.
(D) Criteria established under division (C) above 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, regardless of the distance of the tourist attraction from the highway on which the tourist attraction signage is placed:
(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 36-14-21; regardless of the distance of the tourist attraction from the highway on which the tourist attraction signage is placed.
(E) All costs of manufacturing, installation, and maintenance to the State Department of Transportation for a business sign posted under this section shall be paid by the business.
(F) A person may not place, maintain, or display a flashing, a rotating, or an alternating light, beacon, or other lighted device that:
(1) Is visible from a highway; and
(2) May be mistaken for or confused with a traffic-control device or for an authorized warning device on an emergency vehicle.
(G) Criteria established under division (C) for tourist attraction signage must include a category for tourist attraction that is an establishment licensed under IC 7.1-3-2-7(5).
(H) 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)
(I) Each sign, signal, or marking prohibited under this section or other state law is declared to be a public nuisance, and 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(e))
(Ord. 306, passed 4-8-81)