Archive for July 22, 2008
Town of Edgewood Violates Its Own Sign Ordinance
by John Weckerle
In its effort to create a dramatic display of sign-removal authority, the Town of Edgewood appears to have violated at least one provision of its own sign ordinance.
In a partial response to a New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act request for information, Ms. Estefanie Muller stated that “only one violation has been issued,” – this despite the fact that dozens of signs were on display at the July 4, 2008 Town Council. In an odd twist, the violation provided in the response was not for any of the signs present at that meeting, or for an illegally placed sign, but for a billboard that had been vandalized. That violation was issued last December.
Section 10.B of the Edgewood sign ordinance states: “The first time a sign or signs are removed from public property, the person, business, or service identified on the sign will be given a notice of violation.” The ordinance provides the Town with no discretion in that matter. In effect, by not issuing the violations, the Town may have denied the sign owners due process, since the owners would have had no way of knowing that their signs had been removed by the Town (as opposed to having been stolen). »» Town of Edgewood Violates Its Own Sign Ordinance