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

Sec. 3 defines a sign broadly as any structure, device, letter, model, banner or display that advertises, announces, directs or is designed to attract attention, and separately defines a "non-accessory sign" as a billboard or other commercial advertising device that does not qualify as an accessory sign, a non-accessory directory sign, or a noncommercial sign. Sec. 5 lists prohibited signs and opens with item (A): non-accessory signs. Because that definition is not tied to any location on the advertised premises, it reaches billboard structures built specifically to be read from a highway or arterial road, such as the Mass Pike or Route 9, just as much as any other off-premises advertising device.

The prohibition sits alongside other absolute bans in the same section, including roof-mounted signs, unanchored portable signs, and signs advertising businesses no longer operating on the premises. Sec. 11(C) gives the Commissioner of Inspectional Services authority to order removal of a sign advertising a discontinued use within 30 days, and by extension a non-accessory sign erected in violation of Sec. 5(A) is subject to removal and cost assessment against the owner.