City says protest signs on lawn must be removed

Homeowner calls out contractor

• A London homeowner who covered her front yard with signs blasting a contractor has been ordered to remove them.

Allison Stacey, 58, said she erected the signs outside her home last Thursday to shame the contractor she accuses of not finishing renovations.

Her front yard features more than a half dozen colourful handmade signs, including one attached to a masked figure holding bloodcovered body parts that says “Check out the hack job.”

“You have to teach people how to treat you,” Stacey, an interior designer, said outside her home Monday.

Stacey said she hired a contractor to put on a new roof, install stone and siding to the home’s exterior and build a new fence. A large portion of Stacey’s house is covered by blue tarping. There isn’t any siding and only a small amount of stonework on the exterior walls.

“I’m sorry to say I’m upsetting some neighbours, but it simply has come down to this,” Stacey said.

Though many drivers honk i n support as they drive past the single- storey house, some of Stacey’s neighbours aren’t happy.

They’re worried that drivers slowing down to read the signs are creating a safety issue. Gawkers could be seen snapping photographs from their moving vehicles.

Neighbours also are concerned that the property has become an eyesore.

London bylaw boss Orest Katolyk confirmed his office launched an investigation after receiving a complaint.

A city bylaw prohibits erecting signs in residential areas. Katolyk said the homeowner has been issued an order to take down the signs.

“We will give a reasonable time period for the signs to be removed or else we can remove them at the cost to the property owner,” he said, adding that failing to comply could also result in a fine.