At the direction of the Burlington City Council, the City’s Planning Department will soon begin increasing efforts to enforce existing Temporary Sign Regulations. Currently, only one temporary sign is permitted per business location on individual lots; these signs must be placed at least ten feet behind the curb or edge of pavement on any public street and may not be placed in the right-of-way.
No signs are permitted in the public right-of-way with only minor exceptions including, City or State Highway signs, emergency warning signs, signs in the Central Business District (downtown), and limited temporary charity and community messages with proof appropriate insurance.
On Wednesday, January 29th, the City will be increasing sweeps throughout the City to remove illegal temporary signs placed in the rights-of-way. Once collected, these signs will be kept for seven calendar days, after which, the signs will be disposed of. If a business owner or resident believes that their sign has been collected by the City and would like to reclaim it, they may do so by first calling 336-222-5084.
“Next week, will begin deploying a more focused strategy in removing illegal signs from the City’s rights-of-way,” says Zoning Administrator Joey Lea. He added, “We are reassigning some of our existing part-time staff to increase the attention given to the temporary sign regulations.”
Excerpts of the City Zoning Code in which temporary sign regulations are defined are available on the City’s website here: http://burlingtonnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6556.
Residents or business owners should call 336-222-5084 to reclaim removed signs, to report illegal signs, or with general signage questions.