Campaign signs are up all over town, and state law lets them stay up a while longer. Minnesota's sign exemption runs from 46 days before the state primary until 10 days after the state general election. With the general election on November 3, residents can keep election signs up through November 13. The city's placement rules still apply until then, and so does the need for the property owner's permission.
The state statute says noncommercial signs of any size may be posted in any number during that window, and cities can regulate size and number only at other times. In a general election year like this one, the window counts from the state primary, and it runs straight through the fall campaign. Early voting for November began September 18, and there is a deadline to pre-register. Voters who miss it can still register at their polling place on Election Day.
The city first posted its plain-language rundown on August 5. Its guidance says election signs are allowed from 46 days before an election through 10 days after, and they always need the consent of whoever owns the land they're planted on. A sign on a neighbor's lawn without asking, or on a boulevard you don't own, isn't allowed.
The city's other categories cover the usual suspects. Contractor signs can stay up while work is underway. Garage sales get up to 4 signs for up to 7 days a year, and real estate open house signs go only on the property being shown, during the showing. Signs that advertise a business on its own site need a city permit and must meet separate size and placement rules under City Code 21.304.13(c).
Some placement rules apply to every kind of sign. No sign can go within 15 feet of a curb or intersection, on a utility pole, traffic sign, tree or other natural feature, in a park or other public area, or on any property without the owner's okay. That last rule is aimed squarely at what the city calls bandit signs: the unauthorized ones advertising jobs or handyman services that tend to multiply on medians and corners.
To ask about a specific sign or report one that looks out of bounds, residents can call the city's Community Development department at 952-563-8920 or email commdev@BloomingtonMN.gov. Environmental Health takes calls at 952-563-8934 and email at envhealth@BloomingtonMN.gov.
