The Sign Police Are Coming

The Fort Wayne City Council turned their nose up at small businesses, church groups, associations, and individuals on Tuesday evening. These groups often used temporary signs to show directions to open houses, to a blood drive, family gatherings, to an auction, church clothing drives for the needy, neighborhood association garage sales, and the list goes on. No longer will that be permitted the day after Mayor Richards signs the ordnance into law.

Temporary signs will no longer be allowed on "public land" and right-a-ways. The "SIGN POLICE" will now be able to grab them and the owner of the sign faces a fine.

The police, fire, and code enforcement departments will be charged with removing the signs. City officials claim, they already had that authority but apparently no one in the city knew how to do it. Tax payer money being well spent again!

Council members voting in favor of this ordnance was John Crawford (R), Tom Hayhurst (D), Glynn Hines (D), Tim Pape (D), Don Schmidt (R), Tom Smith (R), and Sam Talarico (R). The only "no" vote came from John Shoaff (D). Council member Tom Didier (R) was absent. The "Rubber Stamp" of city council prevails again.

The "SIGN POLICE " will need to be taught what public property is based on federal and state law. The other issue is the government grabbing of control over deeded right-a-way and easements. The government could exercise control to the extent provided by law. This includes providing sidewalks for the public to use, utility lines, and for safe use of the streets. One has to wonder how this sign ordnance really fits into those standards?

The city is stating these signs are a safety hazard on two levels. One, they distract drivers and can cause auto accidents. Two, signs located in the grass area between sidewalks and streets could result in utility line damage. There was no attempt to clarify areas that do not have sidewalks present.

The city offered no data as to one wreck in Fort Wayne that was the result of a person reading some sign setting along the road. Had they shown that 1% of all auto accidents was the result of this occurring then they would then have a valid point.

The protection of the utility lines is of note. The city failed to show where the placement of a sign in the ground compromised any buried utility line. Water, sewer, gas, electric, telephone, and cable lines are required to be buried so deep below the surface by current code. A distance which is far greater then temporary signs have ever been placed.

The city and utility companies have every right to remove any sign attached to an utility pole. The attachment of any sign could impair the use of the pole from public safety to the utility people being able to service such. The city or the utility company have ever made an attempt to stop such activity, even though they had the law to do so.

Now we will see Fort Wayne Fire Department's huge pumper trucks pulling up to intersections, turning on all their flashing lights, the four man crew jumping out, and grab a sign. The truck will set there maybe 20 minutes while some member of the crew fills out a report. Costing taxpayers a couple hundred dollars for the truck and crew. They are the "SIGN POLICE!"

The fire truck setting in the road, with lights flashing will cause a traffic jam that could result in an accident.

Next comes a patrol officer who sees a sign. He calls out of service, turns on his lights, blocks a lane of traffic, retrieves the sign, and spends twenty minutes filling out a report. The cost has to be near a hundred dollars of tax payer money.

Daily police officers cannot respond to certain calls because they are too busy doing other pressing assignments. They are out catching criminals, stopping speeders, arresting DUI's suspects, and patrolling our neighborhoods. It is hard to believe a city would take an officer away from performing these other duties to become part of the "SIGN POLICE."

With the squad car setting in the road will cause a traffic jam that could result in an accident.

The Code Enforcement department has always had the authority and responsibility to remove most of these dreaded signs. They just did not do their job as part of the "SIGN POLICE."

What is going to happen in a year or two, the city will request additional CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS who can play the roll of the "SIGN POLICE." They will need cars equipped with computer equipment linking to a system providing every easement and right of way on every property in Fort Wayne. Calculating it will take twenty minutes per sign to remove it and write a report the average "SIGN POLICEMAN" will remove between five or six signs a day.

It is hoped someone, with maybe the often hated ACLU, go after the city if they are limiting first amendment rights of freedom of speech. They use weak reasoning of outlawing temporary signs. Then again, the real reason these council members is to limit unknown public candidates for office a low cost method of competing against the well financed incumbents.

This is going to cost tax payers a great deal of money. Let us just hope the tax payer has some change in his pocket to feed his family.