(a) (1) No person shall place, maintain or display upon or in view of any street any unauthorized sign, signal, marking or device which purports to be, is an imitation of, or resembles a traffic control device or railroad sign or signal, or which attempts to direct the movement of traffic, or which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any traffic control device or any railroad sign or signal, and no person shall place or maintain, nor shall any public authority permit, upon any street any traffic sign or signal bearing thereon any commercial advertising. This section does not prohibit the erection upon private property adjacent to streets of signs giving useful directional information and of a type that cannot be mistaken for traffic control devices or the erection upon private property of traffic control devices by the owner of real property in accordance with RC 4511.211 and RC 4511.32.
(2) Every such prohibited sign, signal, marking or device is a public nuisance, and the Director of Public Safety is authorized to remove the same or cause it to be removed.
(RC 4511.16(A))
(b) No person shall stick, post or attach any advertisement, poster, sign, handbill or placard of any kind or description upon any portion of a traffic control device or pole, post or stanchion upon which such device is placed or to which such device is attached, except such as may be required or permitted by the State laws or City ordinances.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If, within one (1) year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one (1) predicate motor vehicle or traffic offense, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If, within one (1) year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of two (2) or more predicate motor vehicle or traffic offenses, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(RC 4511.16(B); Ord. No. 1278-15. Passed 10-16-17, eff. 10-20-17)