Walnut : Illegal Signs Targeted

Spurred by a recent proliferation of illegal signs, the city will bolster its effort to tear down the unauthorized displays and work toward putting a heavier bite on offenders.

The City Council last week approved reassigning a 20-hour-per-week administrative intern to weekend sign ordinance enforcement through September, when a tougher sign-law measure is expected to be proposed.

The increased enforcement means Walnut is spending more than $40,000 per year to take down unauthorized signs and cite culprits, mainly real estate developers and politicians.

Despite that, there are 14% more citations over the same period last year, according to a staff report. “More signs are collected every weekend,” said Councilman Ray Watson, who along with Councilman Tom Sykes is overseeing the committee that has been directed to draw up the tougher proposal.