Inadequate Official Traffic-Control Device Under Iowa Code §321.255
Iowa Code §321.255 requires every official traffic-control device (including parking signs and pavement markings) to conform to the Iowa Department of Transportation Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (Iowa MUTCD, adopted by reference under §321.252) and be in proper position and 'sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person.' If the regulating sign was missing, faded, knocked down, obscured by foliage/snow/graffiti, illegibly graffitied, contradictory to adjacent signs, or installed without statutory authority, the citation cannot stand because the operator was never lawfully on notice of the regulation. Iowa Code §321.236 (parking-meter and curb-restriction ordinances) and §321.358 (stopping/standing/parking) both presuppose proper signing.
Legal basis
Iowa Code §321.252 (adoption of MUTCD); §321.255 (display of unauthorized signs/legibility); §321.358 (stopping, standing, parking); §321.236 (local parking-meter authority)
Sample appeal wording
[DATE] [CITY] Parking Violations Bureau [ADDRESS] Re: Appeal of Citation #[CITATION_NUMBER] Vehicle: [LICENSE_PLATE] Location: [LOCATION] Date of Violation: [VIOLATION_DATE] To Whom It May Concern: I respectfully appeal the above citation under Iowa Code §321.255, which requires every official traffic-control device to be 'sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person' and to conform to the Iowa Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices adopted under §321.252. Where the regulatory sign fails this standard, the regulation it purports to convey cannot lawfully be enforced against a motorist. At the time and place of the alleged violation, the regulatory sign at [LOCATION] was [DESCRIBE DEFECT: missing entirely / obscured by tree growth / buried in snow / faded beyond legibility / knocked down / contradicted by adjacent signage / mounted below the Iowa MUTCD 7 ft urban minimum / not on any approved Iowa MUTCD device list]. Photographs taken on [DATE] at [TIME] are enclosed as Exhibits A-[X], showing [SPECIFIC DEFECTS] and the GPS coordinates of each. Because the sign was not in proper position and sufficiently legible, no enforceable parking restriction existed at this location, and Iowa Code §321.358 (and the underlying [CITY] Code §[___]) cannot be applied to my conduct. I respectfully request the citation be dismissed in full. Sincerely, [NAME] [ADDRESS] [PHONE] Enclosures: Photographs (Exhibits A-[X])
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- Iowa Code §321.252, §321.255, §321.358, §321.236 (legis.iowa.gov)
- Iowa MUTCD (iowadot.gov/traffic/mutcd)
- Des Moines Municipal Code Ch. 114 (Stopping, Standing, Parking)
- Iowa City Code Title 9, Ch. 4