Sahuarita cracking down on sign violators

Town planning staff this weekend slapped yellow violation notices on about 40 homebuilder signs illegally placed in the right of way.

The action is part of a town crackdown on the roadside signs, and the most visible offenders are the homebuilder signs, Town Planning and Zoning Director Sarah S. More said.

More and Senior Planner Anna DiMambro went on sign patrol Saturday morning, and counted another 60 signs that were illegally placed in the right-of-way, but only put the yellow violation stickers on the most prominent signs.

They also took pictures of some of the most flagrant offenders, including a tractor trailer with Richmond American Homes in huge lettering that dwarfed the yellow notice; large metal-framed Richmond American and Meritage Homes signs; a permanent Madera Highland sign whose posts were driven into the ground, and a couple of the small plastic signs on sticks, one of which partially blocked a legally placed sign for the Green Valley Pecan Company.

“The volume of illegal signs put out every weekend by the homebuilders is tremendous. If we can take care of that issue, it will go far to helping clear up the problem,” More said. “We are also taking separate action on the smaller business signs - carpet cleaning, satellite TV, etc.”

“The Town does need to deal with everyone fairly and enforce the zoning regulations equitably. This is just the first step,” More said.

The town is not taking action on political signs, which are exempt from regulation under free speech law.

Town staff and residents repeatedly have counted 100 or more homebuilder signs that pop up in illegal locations on weekends, most of which disappear Sunday night or early Monday.

As of Monday morning, the large signs were gone, but not the small ones.

“The next step is a meeting, then citations/court,” More said.

More has sent a letter to homebuilders advising them that if they do not pull the roadside signs, “staff will begin conducting weekend sweeps and issuing fines to violators. The minimum fine imposed by the hearing officer for violation of the sign code is $50 per violation per day.”

The town allows builders to show their locations on kiosk signs that list a number of builders together, but town code does not allow for individual signs away from a builder’s site, More said.

She has received no response from the letter beyond a phone conversation saying builders were afraid to comply if that meant losing a competitive advantage with other builders.

The idea of a meeting would be to let them know they are all on a level playing field and that enforcement efforts will continue. No meeting date has been set with builders.

The town has authority to remove signs, but based on her experience in other cities and towns, More said, “I am going to try to avoid this as they just put up new ones.”

pfranchine@sahuaritasun.com |547-9738