Where political signs are allowed — and banned — in Eugene-Springfield

As political signs go up ahead of the May 19 primary election, officials are reminding Eugene-Springfield area residents about the rules governing where they can be placed.

In Eugene, political signs cannot be placed in the right-of-way on city streets and roads.

​The right-of-way is government-owned property that includes the roadway and often adjacent areas, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. On highways and streets within cities, the right-of-way might only extend from curb to curb, while outside of cities, it could stretch 200 feet or more beyond the pavement, according to state transportation officials. 

Political signs can be placed on private property in Eugene, but city code says they must be 12 square feet or less in area. The code also states that signs can only be displayed 60 days before a Lane County election and five days afterward.

City spokesperson Lindsay Selser wrote in a statement that enforcing the political sign rules is a low priority for the code compliance team. 

If the team removes a sign, city staff attempt to contact the owner and give them 10 days to pick it up from a city office.

On city roads and streets in Springfield, the city code also restricts signs to 12 square feet or less in area and locations on private property. Springfield also allows signs to be displayed from 60 days before an election to five days after.

​Charlie Kent, the associate program manager of the city’s code enforcement department, said enforcing rules on political signs is generally a low priority.

​Code enforcement is not “proactively looking for these types of violations,” Kent said in an interview with Lookout Eugene-Springfield, adding that in the unlikely event signs pose significant public safety concerns, the city will address them promptly.

Kent said the city doesn’t track how many political signs it takes down but noted he is only aware of one sign that was removed multiple times earlier this year.

After a sign is removed, Kent said code compliance will contact its owner, who will have 30 days to pick it up from a city office. 

​The rules for political signs on Lane County roads and streets are significantly different from those in Eugene and Springfield, but county officials said it is still illegal to put up political signs in the public right-of-way. 

Lane County Public Works Director Dan Hurley said the county doesn’t restrict how long people can keep political signs up for, or place size restrictions on signs.

Hurley also said enforcing the rules on political signs is a low priority for the public works department, and that it hasn’t yet received any complaints about political signs in the lead-up to the May primary.

After public works removes signs, Hurley said residents have 30 days to pick them up from the public works office at 3040 N. Delta Highway.

What are the rules on state highways?

The Oregon Department of Transportation said in a news release that political signs also cannot be in the right-of-way on Oregon highways and interstates, where only traffic control devices are allowed. 

​ODOT officials said its crews routinely remove improperly placed signs and other objects along highways to prevent them from blocking road safety messages, distracting drivers and creating collision hazards. Spokesperson Mindy McCartt said ODOT doesn’t track how many political signs it takes down.

Political signs can still be placed on private property within the view of state highways and interstates. But the signs cannot be larger than 12 square feet without a variance permit from ODOT’s Oregon Advertising Sign program, and they must not mimic official highway signs, or have lights or moving parts.

According to McCartt, ODOT doesn’t restrict how long signs can be up for. 

ODOT officials emphasized that it’s not always clear to property owners where the highway right-of-way is because it can vary by location. If people aren’t sure whether the location they want to place their political sign is in a highway right-of-way, state transportation officials recommend checking with the local ODOT district maintenance office. 

After ODOT removes an incorrectly placed political sign, its owners have 30 days to pick it up at their ODOT district maintenance office.

How to report illegal signs

​To report illegal political signs on Oregon state highways and interstates to ODOT, call 888-275-6368, or visit ODOT’s hazard reporting page.

For Eugene city roads, people can report political signs that are illegally in the right-of-way online. If signs violate other rules, residents may submit complaints to code enforcement by phone at 541-682-5819 or by email at codecompliance@ci.eugene.or.us. Complaints can also be submitted in-person at the code compliance team’s office, 99 W. 10th Ave., Suite 230 in Eugene.

​To report illegal political signs in Springfield, contact code enforcement at CodeEnforcement@springfield-or.gov or 541-726-3680.

On Lane County roads, illegal signs can be reported to the county’s public works department at 541-682-6900 or lcpwadmn@lanecountyor.gov.