§ 71.20 UNAUTHORIZED SIGNS AND SIGNALS, HIDING FROM VIEW AND ADVERTISING.
   (A)   No local authority or person shall place, maintain or display upon or in view of any street or highway any unauthorized traffic control device or traffic control signal, or any unauthorized sign, signal, marking or device which purports to be or is an imitation of or resembles an official 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 official 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 or highway any traffic control device bearing thereon any commercial advertising. This shall not be deemed to prohibit the erection upon private property adjacent to a street or highway of signs giving useful directional information and of a type that cannot be mistaken for official signs.
   (B)   Every such prohibited device, signal, sign or marking is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and the Commissioner of Highways or other authority having jurisdiction over the street or highway is hereby empowered to remove the same or cause it to be removed without notice.
   (C)   Any person failing to comply with the requirements of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100; upon a second conviction within one year thereafter, shall be fined not more than $200; and upon a third or subsequent conviction, shall be fined not more than $500. Court costs as determined by the court shall be added to each conviction.
(W. Va. Code 17C-3-8) (Prior Code, § 313.06) (Ord. passed 10-1-2024) Penalty, see §  71.99