Courtesy of City of Vestavia Hills
While not the Emerald City, officials with the City of Vestavia Hills are hoping to encourage residents to protect the city's greenways, medians, trees and other road-side spots from unauthorized signage.
Vestavia's sign ordinance, which addresses both permanent and temporary signs and banners, is not a new ordinance, but has seen some uneven compliance and enforcement over the last few years.
As city council members discussed at a January work session, business owners have complained about the signs, banners, flags and other materials being posted in front of their businesses or along public streets, particularly U.S. 31.
As a response, City Manager Jeff Downes said the city hopes to use a little humor to encourage the public to clean up the city while informing them of what is and isn't allowed.
"Don't Sign Your City Away" encourages residents to have a scarecrow's brain and tin man's heart to care for their city, and a lion's courage to report unauthorized signs to the proper authority.
"It's an effort to make our city a cleaner place," Downes said.
The public awareness campaign will run for a period of time, after which Downes said the city will begin issuing warnings about ordinance violations. The next step, he said, would be enforcement via citations and fines.
Residents and business owners can learn more about the sign ordinance by visiting the campaign's webpage or by contacting Code Enforcement Officer Jimmy Coleman at jcoleman@vhal.org or 978-0113. A video for the "Don't Sign Your City Away" campaign can be viewed here.
Those wishing to submit anonymous tips about sign ordinance violations can do so online at the city's Action Center.
