Haverhill, MA Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

Billboards that don't advertise anything on the property where they stand, what Haverhill's zoning ordinance calls nonaccessory signs, get their own restrictive track under § 6.2.10. They're subject to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93, §§ 29 through 33, on top of the city's own requirements. Section 6.2.10(1) allows them only by special permit of the Board, and only within a CH, CG, IP or BP District. Section 6.2.10(3) narrows placement further: a permitted nonaccessory sign must be positioned so it's visible only from the right-of-way of an interstate, federal or state highway, and it can't sit closer than 500 feet to another nonaccessory sign facing or visible from that same right-of-way.

Section 6.2.10(4) caps size: a highway-facing sign can't exceed 600 square feet of total surface area, and if it's single-faced, that cap drops to 300 square feet. A separate clause not quoted here also lets a nonaccessory sign be built back-to-back or in a V-shape, so long as each face still stays within its own 300-square-foot limit. Because the special permit runs through the Board rather than being issued as-of-right, an applicant has to clear the same detriment-to-the-neighborhood findings that govern any other special permit under § 10.4.2 before construction can begin.