SPRINGDALE : Yard sale signs create nuisance for city staff
Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/235430/
SPRINGDALE — Each Friday and Monday, code enforcement officers scour the town for illegal yard sale signs. Tacked to telephone poles, placed at street corners and in the public right of way, they’re not hard to find.
Though the signs pose no threat to public safety, their removal is considered important as Springdale tries to improve its image.
But with only three code enforcement officers, Springdale doesn’t have the manpower to rid the streets of all illegal signs. And residents looking to sell their wares get angry when city officials interfere.
Code officials are often heckled and cajoled while collecting the signs, but at the end of a typical Monday, they’ve managed to discard dozens of illegal signs.
In July, for example, code officers collected 373 illegal signs. They’re taken to the trash bin behind city hall for disposal.
By ordinance, permits for yard sale signs are good for only two days, and a permit cannot be issued to the same address more than twice in a calendar year. Signs must be free-standing and cannot be placed more than two days before the sale and must be removed the day after.
Chief building official Mike Chamlee said he and his staff focus on the most egregious violations, but do not like to nit-pick the populace.
Code officers focus on removing signs, but typically don’t issue tickets.
“We don’t have the time,” Chamlee said. The code enforcement department, however, had time to write at least one ticket this year.
On Aug. 4, Khristal Lunsford was cited for failing to remove an illegal yard sale sign. She pleaded guilty Aug. 13 in Springdale District Court and was fined $ 50. The maximum penalty for the violation is $ 500.
Along with the yard sale permit, residents receive a sheet detailing the rules for yard sign placement and removal. It’s illegal to place them in the right of way, on public property, sidewalks and on private property without permission.
Those who violate the code have gotten clever over the years, said Chamlee. An arrow pointing toward the sale, but not the address of the sale, is on the sign. Code officers do not have a fixed location if they want to track down a violator on Monday morning.
Most troublesome are the boxes that people use to display the signs. Many are loaded with old shoes, rocks and in one case, an ax head, to keep them from blowing away, Chamlee said.
Spring and summer are the busy seasons for yard sales. Last week the city issued 76 garage sale permits.
The paper or cardboard signs might be crude, but the people who make them tend to defend their creations.
“People are protective of their yard signs,” Chamlee said, adding that his officers are sometimes scolded for removing illegal signs.
The routine in Rogers is similar to that in Springdale. Each Monday, code enforcement officers go looking for illegal garage sale signs.
“If they can go out and put them up, they can go back out there and take them down,” Rogers director of code enforcement James Willett said. “Someone wants to make a quick profit on their junk and have someone else clean up after them.”
Fayetteville deals with the problem in much the same way. When code officers see signs that are not properly placed, they are removed, said Community Resources Director Yolanda Fields. Most people in Fayetteville play by the rules.
“I don’t think we’ve had a huge issue with signs,” Fields said.