CONTROL OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING ADJACENT TO THE INTERSTATE AND PRIMARY HIGHWAY SYSTEMS

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title XV, ch. c. 93D

in effect

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 1 Definitions

c. 93D, § 1. Definitions Section 1. In this chapter unless the context otherwise requires, the following words shall have the following meanings: ''Interstate system'', that portion of the national system of interstate and defense highways located within this commonwealth, as officially designated, or as may be hereafter so designated, by the department of public works of the commonwealth, and approved by the United States Secretary of Transportation, pursuant to the provisions of Title 23, United States Code, ''Highways''. ''Primary systems'', that portion of connected main highways, as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the department of public works of the commonwealth, and approved by the United States Secretary of Transportation, pursuant to the provisions of Title 23, United States Code, ''Highways''. ''Outdoor advertising'', any outdoor sign, display, light, device, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster, billboard, or other thing which is designed, intended or used to advertise or inform, any part of the advertising or information contents of which is visible from any place on the main travelled way of the interstate or primary systems. ''Safety rest area'', an area or site established and maintained within or adjacent to the right of way by or under public supervision or control, for the convenience of the traveling public. ''Secretary'', the United States Secretary of Transportation. ''Urban area'', urban area as defined in subsection (a) of section 101 of Title 23 of the United States Code. ''Board'', outdoor advertising board. ''Information center'', an area or site established and maintained at safety rest areas for the purpose of informing the public of places of interest within the state and providing such other information as the department of highways may consider desirable. ''Department'', the department of highways of the commonwealth.

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 2 Outdoor advertising prohibited; exceptions

c. 93D, § 2. Outdoor advertising prohibited; exceptions Section 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter ninety-three, no outdoor advertising shall be erected or maintained within six hundred and sixty feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main travelled way of a highway in the interstate or primary systems except the following: (a) Directional and other official signs and notices, which signs and notices shall include, but not be limited to, signs and notices pertaining to natural wonders, scenic and historic attractions, as required or authorized by law or by the department, and which conform to standards promulgated by the secretary under Title 23 of the United States Code. (b) Signs, displays and devices advertising activities conducted on the property upon which they are located. (c) Signs, displays and devices advertising the sale or lease of property upon which they are located. (d) Signs, displays and devices which are located in areas which are zoned industrial or commercial under authority of law and which have permits issued under the provisions of section three. (e) Signs, displays and devices which are located in unzoned commercial or industrial areas which areas shall be determined from actual land use and defined by regulations to be promulgated by the department and which have permits issued under the provisions of section three. (f) Signs lawfully in existence on October twenty-second, nineteen hundred and sixty-five and lawfully maintained thereafter, determined by the department in consultation with the board subject to the approval of the secretary, to be landmark signs, including signs on farm structures or natural surfaces, of historic or artistic significance, the preservation of which would be consistent with the purposes of this section, and which have permits issued under the provisions of section three.

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 2A Outdoor advertising on highway located outside of urban areas

c. 93D, § 2A. Outdoor advertising on highway located outside of urban areas Section 2A. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter ninety-three, no outdoor advertising shall be erected or maintained more than six hundred and sixty feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main travelled way of a highway in the interstate or primary systems if such outdoor advertising is located outside of urban areas and erected with the purpose of their message being read from such main travelled way.

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 3 Permits; compliance with standards and agreements; regulations

c. 93D, § 3. Permits; compliance with standards and agreements; regulations Section 3. Under the procedures set forth in chapter ninety-three, the board is authorized to issue permits for the erection and maintenance of signs, displays and devices described in clauses (a), (d), (e) and (f), of section two, provided, however, that the erection and maintenance thereof would comply with applicable ordinances and by-laws, with standards promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation under Title 23, United States Code, and with agreements between the department and the said Secretary authorized by section seven of this chapter. Nothing in this section shall apply to signs, displays or devices referred to in clauses (b) and (c) of section two. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the board from adopting lawful regulations imposing stricter limitations with respect to signs, displays and devices on the interstate and primary systems.

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 4 Violations as a public nuisance; abatement

c. 93D, § 4. Violations as a public nuisance; abatement Section 4. Any outdoor advertising which violates the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a public nuisance. The department shall have the same power to abate and remove any such nuisance as is given the board of health of a town under sections one hundred and twenty-three to one hundred and twenty-five, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and eleven, and the provisions of said sections shall, so far as applicable, apply in the case of a nuisance as herein defined. The remedy provided herein shall be in addition to any other remedy provided by law.

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 5 Injunction; jurisdiction

c. 93D, § 5. Injunction; jurisdiction Section 5. The supreme judicial and superior courts shall have jurisdiction in equity upon the petition of the department, the board, the attorney general, of any city or town or any officer thereof, or of any interested party, to restrain the erection or maintenance of any outdoor advertising erected or maintained in violation of any provisions of this chapter, and to order the removal or abatement of such outdoor advertising as a nuisance.

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 6 Maps, informational directories and advertising pamphlets

c. 93D, § 6. Maps, informational directories and advertising pamphlets Section 6. The department is hereby authorized to maintain maps and to permit informational directories and advertising pamphlets to be made available at safety rest areas, and to establish centers at safety rest areas for the purpose of informing the public of places of interest within the commonwealth and providing such other information as may be considered desirable.

M.G.L. c. 93D, § 7 Federal agreements

c. 93D, § 7. Federal agreements Section 7. The department is hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with the United States Secretary of Transportation, as provided by Title 23 of the United States Code, to establish standards for size, lighting and spacing of signs, displays and devices described in subsections (d) and (e) of section two, and to define an unzoned commercial or industrial area for the purposes of said section, and to take action in the name of the commonwealth to comply with the terms of such agreement. The department is further authorized to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Transportation as provided by said Title 23 of the United States Code, relating to the establishment of information centers at safety rest areas, and to take action in the name of the commonwealth to comply with the terms of such agreement.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93DFetched: 10/20/2026