Wichita City Council takes steps to eliminate roadside eyesores

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August 21, 2012|By Melissa Scheffler | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — It’s a sign the Wichita City Council is getting tougher on fighting eyesores along the roadways. The council passed several measures today that will make you pay more for illegally placing any kind of sign in a public right-of-way... even a garage sale sign. And, it's recruiting volunteers to help with the ordinance.

The city calls these advertisements a "nuisance" and "sign blight." But for Titan Signs Incorporated owner G.R. Weltmer, they make sense with a small business's dollars and cents

"Where else can you get a thousand people to see your ad for three bucks,” Weltmer asked.

That's why Weltmer says the tougher measures targeting signs like these, will hurt local businesses.

"They have no budget to put out mass advertising on the radio or the newspaper,” Weltmer said.

The city will train volunteers to target all signs... whether they're for a business, a campaign, or a garage sale... and remove or report them for violation. The maximum fine is double what it used to be. It's now a thousand dollars.

Weltmer worries the volunteers won't understand the rules--costing small businesses money in a wasted advertisement, and, giving others an excuse to trash a political opponent's or competitor's sign.

"Who's going to stop me really? I just claim that one is illegal, it's in the back of my truck, it was against the street, it becomes a he said, she said,” Weltmer said.

The city council is going after all signs placed in public right-of-ways. A public right-of-way is anywhere between the sidewalk and street, a street median, a public park, or a utility pole.

We asked Weltmer what his clients have been saying.

"Most of them are kind of curious, is there anything they need to do differently. I keep telling them, it's exactly what I've been telling you since day one. Put them behind the sidewalk... light poles,” Weltmer said.

The city is also launching a public education campaign explaining the rules. Weltmer just hopes everyone plays by them.

The city says the volunteers can remove the sign or report it for violation. Only those signs that are not removed would be cited for violation of the ordinance. Something else to keep in mind, these rules don't impact people holding-up signs along the side of the road.

The public education campaign includes a video that can be found on Cable Channel 7, www.wichita.gov and the City’s social media sites. It can be viewed at the following link: http://youtu.be/esr42bx_80Q.

OCI currently provides sign companies, realtors, and candidates running for public office a handout that details the appropriate placement for signage.

Businesses and other organizations known to be in violation of the ordinance will soon be provided a similar handout and notified of violations via email and/or automated phone calls.

You can visit www.wichita.gov or call 316-303-8028 to learn how to volunteer for the Sign Removal Program.

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