Everett, MA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Term used for roads
- Public way; the word freeway is not used
- Size trigger at 100 feet
- Exceeding eight feet long or four feet high
- Size trigger at 300 feet
- Exceeding twenty-five feet long or twelve feet high
- Residential bar
- No billboards in residence districts or mostly residential blocks
- State approval
- Outdoor Advertising Board permit required
- Governing section
- Everett Revised Ordinances Section 12A-65
Summary
In the City of Everett, Massachusetts, Section 12A-65 sets distance and size limits for billboards and off-premise signs visible from any public way. The code uses the term public way rather than freeway. Larger faces are restricted within one hundred and three hundred feet of a way, and a Massachusetts Outdoor Advertising Board permit is required.
Section 12A-65. ... Billboard and other Off-Premise Signs. No persons, firm, association, or corporation shall erect, display, or maintain, within the limits of the city, a billboard or off-premise sign unless it meets the following requirements or unless it was approved by the Massachusetts Outdoor Advertising Board under Section 30 and 32 of Chapter 93 of the General Laws, or by any amendments or additions thereto, in which case any such off-premise sign or billboard shall comply with the requirements of this Section and all other sections of this Ordinance by January 1, 1975. (a) Within fifty (50) feet of any public way; ... (e) Nearer than one hundred (100) feet to any public way, if within view of any portion of the same, if such billboard or off-premise sign shall exceed a length of eight (8) feet or a height of four (4) feet. (f) Nearer than three hundred (300) feet to any public way, if within view of any portion of the same, if such billboard or off-premise sign shall exceed a length of twenty-five (25) feet or a height of twelve (12) feet;
Full Breakdown
Chapter 12A of the Everett Revised Ordinances does not use the word freeway. Billboards and off-premise signs that face a road are governed by Section 12A-65, Billboard and other Off-Premise Signs, which measures from any public way. The section opens by saying no person, firm, association or corporation shall erect, display or maintain a billboard or off-premise sign within the limits of the city unless it meets the listed requirements or was approved by the Massachusetts Outdoor Advertising Board under Sections 30 and 32 of Chapter 93 of the General Laws, in which case it had to comply with the section and the rest of the ordinance by January 1, 1975.
The lettered list is printed as fragments of locations and dimensions. Subsection (a) lists locations within fifty (50) feet of any public way. Subsection (e) covers a billboard nearer than one hundred (100) feet to any public way, if within view of any portion of it, when the sign exceeds a length of eight (8) feet or a height of four (4) feet. Subsection (f) does the same at three hundred (300) feet for a sign exceeding twenty-five (25) feet in length or twelve (12) feet in height. Subsection (b) covers locations within three hundred (300) feet of any public park, playground or other public grounds if within view, and subsection (c) sets fifty (50) feet between billboards unless placed back to back. Subsection (d) addresses corner locations within a radius of one hundred fifty feet from the point where the centerlines of the ways intersect.
Subsection (h) bars billboards in any residence district or in any block where one-half or more of the buildings on both sides of the street are used partially or wholly for residential purposes. Subsection (i) requires a Massachusetts Outdoor Advertising Board permit, and exempts conforming signs that only identify the occupant or business or advertise the property for sale or to let. Under Section 12A-64(a), an on-premise sign whose activity has ended becomes an off-premise sign after ninety days and must then meet Section 12A-65. This page covers the City of Everett, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Violations & Fines
Whoever violates any provision of Section 12A-65 is punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00). Whoever, after conviction for the violation, unlawfully maintains the billboard or off-premise sign for twenty (20) days thereafter is punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars ($20.00) per day (Section 12A-66). The Building Inspector enforces Chapter 12A and orders removal of a sign erected in violation after ninety days written notice (Sections 12A-38 and 12A-39).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Everett, Massachusetts have a separate freeway sign rule?
How far from the road do large billboards have to sit in Everett?
Where are billboards barred outright in Everett?
Is a state permit needed for a billboard in the City of Everett?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Everett
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Freeway-Facing Signs in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle freeway-facing signs.