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Severability Clause <br />Provides that if any provision of the ordinance is found to be invalid, the remainder of the <br />ordinance stands on its own and is still valid. May prevent a flaw in part of the ordinance from <br />invalidating all of it. <br />Acknowledgement of election season pre- emption <br />Minnesota Statute 211 B.045 requires municipalities to allow noncommercial signs of any size <br />during election season, from August 1 until ten days after the election. <br />Do not misinterpret this language. It gives extra protection to noncommercial speech during <br />election season. It does not limit political signs to only that time. <br />Content Neutral regulations based on time, place, and manner <br />Regulations should be objectively based on time, place, and manner, not content. Examples <br />include regulations based on size, brightness, zoning district, spacing, and movement. <br />Provisions All Sign Ordinances Should Avoid <br />Unfettered discretion <br />Avoid discretionary approval by the city. Having discretion creates the potential for favoring <br />some messages or messengers over others, whether or not that discretion is actually abused. <br />Permit requirements should be transparent and objective. <br />Exemptions or favoritism <br />Avoid exempting certain groups or messages, such as church signs or official flags, from permit <br />requirements. This could be content -based discrimination. <br />Exemptions also may "water down" the substantial government interest. For example, if an <br />ordinance prohibits temporary signs but allows a long list of exemptions, it suggests the city is <br />not really concerned about temporary signs. <br />This is different from providing exemptions based on valid time, place, or manner restrictions, <br />such as exempting all signs under a certain size from permitting requirements. <br />Inadvertently treating non - commercial speech differently by defining "sign " as "advertising" <br />Beware of over - defining terms. This occasional problem is the combination of a few steps: <br />1. Signs are defined as advertising devices. <br />2. The ordinance allows signs as defined. <br />3. All other signs are prohibited. <br />This arguably prohibits noncommercial speech, which is unconstitutional. <br />111> nidadridi is provioeu as general information and Is not a substitute for legal advice. <br />Consult your attorney for advice concerning specific situations. <br />-2- <br />