Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Non-Compliant Signage
Salt Lake City Code §12.56.020 incorporates the MUTCD (adopted by UDOT under §41-6a-301) for all parking signage. Signs must be at the prescribed mounting height (7 ft to bottom in commercial zones), legible from the parked vehicle, free of obstructions (foliage, larger signs, posts), and continuous between intersections. A faded, missing, knocked-down, obscured, or contradictory sign at the location of the citation makes the violation unenforceable because the driver had no fair notice. Hearing officers regularly dismiss when the appellant submits a same-day photo of the sign.
Legal basis
Utah Code §41-6a-301 (MUTCD adoption); SLC Code §12.56.020; MUTCD §2B; Due Process – Lambert v. California, 355 U.S. 225 (1957)
Sample appeal wording
Salt Lake City Parking Appeals P.O. Box 145492, Salt Lake City, UT 84114 RE: Citation #[CITATION] – [DATE] – [LOCATION] I respectfully appeal this citation on the ground that the parking restriction was not legibly conveyed by signage at the location, in violation of the MUTCD, Utah Code §41-6a-301, and SLC Code §12.56.020. When I returned to [LOCATION] on [DATE], I documented the following: [faded/missing/obstructed/contradictory] sign(s). Photographs are attached and timestamped. The Supreme Court in Lambert v. California, 355 U.S. 225 (1957) held that a person cannot be punished for a regulatory offense without fair notice. Drivers of ordinary care parking at this location would not have understood the restriction. I request the citation be dismissed. Sincerely, [NAME] / [ADDRESS] / [DATE]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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