New procedure for illegal signs is in the works
SHANDAKEN, N.Y. » Town Code Enforcement Officer Warren Tutt, in the news recently for removing dozens of roadside signs in Shandaken without notifying the owners, says he and the Town Board are working on new procedures for how he will handle illegal signs.
Several residents complained about the sign removals, and some told the board at its July 10 meeting that they called police because they thought their signs had been stolen.
There were also allegations that Tutt had exercised selective enforcement — applying the town’s sign law to some residents but not others.
Town Supervisor Rob Stanley told the affected residents last week that they should take the matter up with Tutt and the town’s planning and zoning boards. But on Monday, Tutt said the matter will return to the Town Board.
Explaining his recent actions, Tutt said the proliferation of temporary signs has always been an issue in the town, but being busy with other duties, he had not gotten around to dealing with it until now. His explanation for taking the signs was they were either located in the roadside right of way, which is against the law, and/or they were larger than town law permits.
As for how he went about enforcing the law, Tutt did not apologize but did say that he and the Town Board will come up with a new, specific enforcement procedure within the next couple of weeks and that it will be used going forward.
Tutt said he and the board are looking at the possibility of attaching a notice of violation to signs that don’t meet town standards.
Code infractions typically are handled with a written notification of violation to the property owner, who then is given 30 days to correct the problem. In the case of the recent sign purge, Tutt simply drove around town and pulled up the signs without notifying anyone and took them back to the Town Hall.
Responding to the allegation of selective enforcement, Tutt said his purge is not yet complete.
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Town of Shandaken sign law, in brief
Section 116-25 of the Shandaken Zoning Code, which is posted at shandaken.us, is rather lengthy, but a reading of it provides the guidelines for signage.
General standards require that all signs be maintained. They also prohibit signs from being placed in the public right of way that exists alongside all town, county and state roads.
There are regulations both for permitted, permanent signs and for temporary signs such as the ones mentioned in this article,
The full text of the temporary sign regulations is as follows.
The following temporary signs are permitted without application for and issuance of a permit:
(1) Construction signs, limited to one unlighted sign not exceeding 32 square feet in surface area and identifying the parties involved in the construction on the premises where the sign is located, but not including the advertisement of any product. Such signs shall be removed immediately upon the issuance of a certificate
of occupancy and the initiation of intended use.
(2) Event signs, not exceeding 24 square feet in surface area, displayed on private property and limited to one such event sign per each premise, announcing a campaign, drive or event of a political, civic, philanthropic, educational or religious organization, to be removed within a period of 10 days after the event.
(3) Real estate “For Sale” signs and signs of a similar nature, not exceeding 4 square feet per side in area within any residential district or 10 square feet per side in any commercial district, shall be permitted without permit or fee. All such signs shall be removed immediately upon sale or lease of the premises.