As candidates gear up for the August 11 primary, Bloomington posted a plain-language rundown of what residents can and can't do with signs on their own lawns and at street corners. The short version: political signs are fair game with the property owner's okay, but only within a defined window around the election, and there are hard limits on where any sign can go regardless of what it's advertising.
Election signs are allowed for 46 days before an election through 10 days after, per the city's guidance, and always require the consent of whoever owns the property they're planted on. For the August 11 primary, that puts the legal window at roughly June 26 through August 21. Skip a lawn without permission, or plant a sign on the boulevard someone doesn't own, and it's not allowed.
The city's other categories cover the usual suspects: contractor signs while work is actively underway, up to four garage sale signs for up to seven days a year, and real estate open house signs that stay up only while the house is actually being shown. Anything advertising a business on-site, on the other hand, needs a city permit and has to follow separate size and placement rules under City Code 21.304.13(c).
Regardless of category, the city drew a firm line on placement: no signs within 15 feet of a curb or intersection, none on utility poles, traffic signs, trees, or other natural features, none in parks or other public areas, and none on a property without that owner's sign-off. That last rule is aimed squarely at what the city calls bandit signs — the unauthorized ones hawking jobs, junk-car buyers, or handyman services that tend to multiply on medians and corners.
Residents with questions about a specific sign, or who want to report one that looks out of bounds, can reach the city's Community Development division at 952-563-8920 or [email protected], or Environmental Health at 952-563-8934 or [email protected].