Category All Art Classes Classical Music Concerts DANCE Etc Exhibits Families Farmers Markets Film Happenings Holiday Holiday Lectures Music (non-classical) Theater

Submit events

PHOTO BY JOHN LARSON

EYESORE. Illegal signs on utility poles are a problem around the city, as this one on Sprague Avenue illustrates.

City goes after illegal signs

By John Larson

They pop up all over town, informing anyone walking or driving by about lost dogs, weight-loss gimmicks and yard sales. When they are on utility poles in Tacoma, they are illegal. And city staff is cracking down.

Charlie Solverson from the city’s Public Works Department discussed the topic during the July 21 meeting of Tacoma City Council’s Neighborhoods and Housing Committee.

City workers recently removed 44 signs along Pacific Avenue between South 72nd and 96th streets.

Solverson said that the currently policy is that when the city receives a complaint about an illegal sign, crews will do a sweep through the surrounding area looking for other signs to remove.

This is part of an ongoing trend to be more efficient and consistent in dealing with the problem, he told the committee. Citizens seem to get upset most when an intersection is plastered with such signs, he noted.

Staff in the Tax and License Division also looks for illegal signs when they are doing routine inspections of businesses.

Councilmember Spiro Manthou asked if the people who posted the signs can be fined, using information such as phone numbers and addresses on the sign.

“It is difficult to trace,” Solverson replied.

Mayor Bill Baarsma told a story of a citizen who was so enraged by illegal signs in Proctor District that the person went through the neighborhood with a baseball bat knocking them down.

Baarsma suggested a fine, or even revoking the license of a business posting such signs, as possible deterrents. “There should be some kind of sanction,” he remarked.

Baarsma said this has long been a controversial topic in Tacoma. In the 1990s real estate agents posting signs announcing open houses drew some opposition. “We have been down this road before,” he said.

“The issue of illegal signs goes back a long way.”

Some council members felt certain signs should be allowed under certain circumstances. Manthou said he would not want the city going after someone who posted a sign seeking information about a lost kitten.

Councilmember Marilyn Strickland discussed a conversation she had with a convenience store owner. That business owner had received permission from the owner of a neighboring property to display a sandwich board, but removed it after being informed by a city employee that it was illegal.

Solverson said it would be good for city staff to research how other cities have dealt with the issue.

“This seems like an overwhelming task,” Councilmember Lauren Walker said of enforcement.

“It is very labor intensive,” Solverson responded.

Staff is working to increase public awareness of the problem and seek voluntary compliance with the law, he informed council members.

Story Tools