Cedar Rapids cracking down on yard signs again

The city of Cedar Rapids is once again cracking down on yard signs illegally placed too close to city streets.  And police department volunteers came away with a big haul of out-of-place yard signs on Monday.

Police said members of the police volunteer corps went out Monday to respond to complaints about signs littering yards and interfering with vision at street intersections.  They came away with 212 signs posted illegally.  That was enough to fill the back of two pickup trucks.

Sgt Cristy Hamblin, a police spokesperson, said the department is notifying real estate companies and others who had placed signs too close to a city street  to come and retrieve them from a police garage area.  Hamblin said in some years, the vast majority of yard signs that violate zoning rules are political signs that go up in the fall before elections.  But this time, the greatest number of signs advertised homes for sale or garage sales.

Hamblin said a lot of people need a reminder about the rules for placing yard signs that either advertise something for sale or back a political candidate.  First, those who place signs must have the permission of the property owner.  As for distance from the street, Hamblin said any signs placed on the opposite side of a public sidewalk, away from the street, are considered legal. If there is no sidewalk, signs must be placed at least 10 feet from the edge of the street.

Sgt. Hamblin said the volunteers who are enforcing the sign rules will go out on Mondays for the next several weeks to pick up any signs not in compliance.