Showing ordinances that apply to Wellesley, MA
Wellesley is an unincorporated community (population 29,550) in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Because Wellesley is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal code. Instead, Norfolk County ordinances apply directly to properties here. The political signs rules below are the ones that govern your area.
Norfolk County has no political sign rule. Under MGL c. 40 §21(19), MA towns may regulate temporary political signs but cannot impose content-based restrictions. Post-Reed v. Gilbert, most Norfolk County towns removed pre-election time limits.
Massachusetts political signs are protected speech under the First Amendment and Article 16 of the MA Declaration of Rights. MGL c. 40 §21(19) authorizes municipalities to regulate temporary signs in a content-neutral manner. After Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015), Brookline, Quincy, and Weymouth revised sign bylaws to remove duration limits specific to political signs (which were content-based). Private-property political signs are generally allowed with size limits — Brookline Zoning Bylaw §7.04 allows temporary signs up to 6 sq ft; Quincy Zoning Ordinance §8.1 permits temporary residential signs up to 6 sq ft; Weymouth Zoning §120-35 allows temporary signs up to 8 sq ft. All three prohibit signs in public rights-of-way and on utility poles. MassDOT prohibits signs in state highway ROW under 720 CMR 9.00.
Removal from public ROW by DPW. Quincy/Weymouth/Brookline: $50-$300 per sign for ROW placement. MassDOT ROW: removal plus $100-$500.
See how Wellesley's political signs rules stack up against other locations.
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