SF4271

Purpose

The bill creates a requirement for cities (municipalities) to notify sign owners after a street sign is removed from public property, and it sets rules for what happens if the sign isn’t claimed.

Main Provisions

• New rule added to Minnesota Statutes (chapter 471) about removal of signage by a municipality.
• Definitions:
  • Sign: any device or placard that uses graphics, symbols, or writing to advertise, inform, or attract attention for pedestrians or people driving.
  • Municipality: as defined in another statute (section 462.352, subdivision 2).
  • The term “sign” covers signs on streets that are visible and meant to communicate to people in the area.
• Notice after removal:
  • If a municipality removes a sign from a street right-of-way and the sign lists the owner’s contact information, the municipality must contact the sign owner within 24 hours of removal.
  • The municipality must create a process to allow the owner to retrieve the sign at a reasonable time and place.
• Unclaimed signs:
  • If the owner does not claim the sign within 30 days of removal, the municipality may dispose of the sign (trash, recycle, or other disposal).

Significance / What changes

• Establishes a clear, time-bound process for sign removal in local government.
• Shifts some responsibility to municipalities to track and return signs, or dispose of them if unclaimed.
• Provides a formal framework for how sign owners can recover their signs after removal.

Affected Parties

• Municipalities (local governments) that manage street right-of-ways.
• Sign owners (individuals or organizations listed as owners on the sign).

Scope

• Applies to signs that are removed from a street right-of-way and that include owner contact information for notice purposes.

Timeline and Process Details

• Notice to owner within 24 hours of removal.
• Retrieval window to be determined by an established, reasonable process (not specified beyond “reasonable time and place”).
• 30-day period to claim the sign before disposal rights apply.

Relevant changes to existing law - Introduces a new statutory requirement (471.9999) governing notice, retrieval, and disposal of removed signage by municipalities. - Clarifies definitions related to signage and local government authority in this context.

Relevant Terms sign, owner, municipality, street right-of-way, notice, retrieve/retrieval, dispose, trash, recycle, sign removal, Minnesota Statutes, chapter 471, local government