Feuer Urges Crackdown on Illegal Signs

One day after calling for a one-year moratorium on new billboards, Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer recommended Wednesday a crackdown on signs that are illegally posted on public property.

In the motion, Feuer instructed city officials to study higher fines for people who post illegal signs and to develop plans to work with neighborhood groups to fight the problem.

“Visual blight can contribute to the decline of neighborhoods,” he said.

Five years ago the city had a team of 15 workers who pulled down illegal signs and collected fines of $247,000. But because of budget cuts, the city now has only one worker, who collects $60,000 in fines annually.

Because of the growing problem of signs on telephone poles and buildings advertising everything from real estate to liposuction, the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. recently asked the city attorney’s office for permission to tear down the signs.

In essence, the city attorney gave residents the green light by saying the city would probably not prosecute people for tearing down illegally posted signs.

Feuer said he would like the city to consider establishing a program so residents can work with the city to get rid of signs and impose fines on violators.

Also, he would like the city to study increasing the fines and to use the revenues to hire more city workers to fight the problem.

Offenders can now be fined nearly $200 for the first sign violation and $1.60 for every duplicate sign that city workers find.

Feuer also suggested the city establish a contract with a homeowners’ group or nonprofit organization to remove the signs in exchange for a portion of the fines that are collected.

“A partnership with community groups will allow the city to maximize its scarce resources,” he said.

As for the billboard moratorium, Feuer said it is intended to prevent companies from buying up space while lawmakers consider action.

Four states--Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont--ban billboards, as do hundreds of communities nationwide, according to Scenic American, a Washington-based conservation organization.