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WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2000
Our View
Bad Signs
Rappahannock countryside doesn 7
need the blight of illegal signs
They’re unwelcome, unsightly and illegal, but
they keep coming. We re talking about those
small, mass-produced signs that have been appearing along roadsides and at intersections in Rappahannock County in recent days.
These tacky little billboards offer a variety of services, ranging from weight loss plans ("Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!") to work7at-home schemes ("Have a home computer? Earn $75 per hour part-time!")
Obviously, these unwelcome, gratuitous messages are coming from out-of-town; the visual equivalent of e-mail "spam," the advertisers almost always hide behind a 1-800 number that rings in parts unknown.
According to Rappahannock County Administrator John McCarthy, the county has laws on the books that prohibit off-site advertising on private property, and it is illegal to place these signs on the public rights-of-way owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia. And the utility companies on whose poles these signs often appear just hate them.
So the laws are quite clear, and on occasion, McCarthy has taken down a few of the more intrusive signs himself.
Yes, we can tolerate the occasional weekend fruit stand and yard sale sign; they serve their purpose and come and go quickly. And the signs placed by our real estate companies are permitted under different rules.
But this latest plague is different. As of right now, it hasn't been determined that a concerted effort is needed to remove these signs and prosecute the offenders. But as private citizens, we don't have to tolerate this continuing assault on our views of the roadside.
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