Realtors face fines for sign placement

New ordinances to remove
limiting restrictions

By Lara Patangan
Resident Community News

If the real estate agent you hire doesn’t bother to put a for sale sign in your yard, it could be a bad sign. Or, it could be that they are just following the law.
According to section 656.1306 of the Zoning Code, real estate signs have to be set back 10 feet from the property line which sometimes means behind a fence, hedge or other obstruction that makes them obscured.

Jon Singleton, an agent with Watson Realty, has sold real estate for 11 years. While the law is nothing new, he has never seen it enforced until recently. He was surprised to receive three $55 citations for having a for sale sign in a client’s yard.

RealEstate_SignHe didn’t remove them either. “With the way the City is applying the code (requiring signs to be 30 feet from the center line of the street), makes it impossible to adequately market and sell homes,” explained Singleton.

If all goes well, Singleton shouldn’t have to risk the fine much longer.

District 5 Councilwoman Lori Boyer has drafted ordinance 2013-486 that “allows placement of a real estate sign advertising the sale or lease of a residential property between the edge of pavement and the lot line of the property.”

She expects it to pass in the beginning of the month. “It’s just one of those things that you are surprised it’s some other way,” Boyer said. “It’s like motherhood and apple pie.”

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...