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RELEVANT LINKS: <br />Minn. Stat. § 211B.045. <br />2. Substitution clause <br />A substitution clause provides that for every sign that is allowed, any non- <br />commercial message could be legally substituted. This ensures that non- <br />commercial speech is never discriminated against based on content because <br />it will always allow a noncommercial message on any sign. Many <br />ordinances inadvertently define signs in terms of advertising and may <br />incidentally seem to allow only commercial messages. A substitution clause <br />may correct these mistakes by providing a catch -all allowance of <br />noncommercial messages notwithstanding other provisions. <br />3. Severability clause <br />A severability clause provides that if any provision of the ordinance is found <br />to be invalid, the remainder of the ordinance stands on its own and is still <br />valid. This clause may prevent a flaw in part of the ordinance from <br />invalidating all of it. <br />4. Election season pre - emption <br />Your ordinance should contain acknowledgement of election season <br />preemption required by state law. Under this law municipalities must allow <br />noncommercial signs of any size during election season, from 46 days <br />before the state general primary until ten days after the state general <br />election. <br />5. Content- neutral regulations <br />Regulations should be objectively based on time, place, and manner, not <br />content. Examples include regulations based on size, brightness, zoning <br />district, spacing, and movement. <br />B. Provisions to avoid <br />1. Unfettered discretion <br />Avoid discretionary approval by the city. Having discretion creates the <br />potential for favoring some messages or messengers over others, whether or <br />not that discretion is actually abused. Permit requirements should be <br />transparent and objective. <br />2. Exemptions or favoritism <br />Avoid exempting certain groups or messages, such as church signs or <br />official flags, from permit requirements. This could be content -based <br />discrimination. <br />League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 3/7/2007 <br />Sign Ordinances and the First Amendment Page 2 <br />