Signs Of The Times

by Alexa Champion Maanaoui

Ever wonder why extraneous signs advertising builders, tanning salons, weight-loss programs, beer-making supply shops and bridal stores are allowed on Howard County’s highways and byways? How is that just about anybody can put up a piece of cardboard to advertise their wares?

Technically, they can’t. In fact, according to those who monitor sign codes for Columbia, Howard County and the state of Maryland, those who put up illegal signs can be personally fined and have their signs removed for being in violation of regulations and laws on all three levels.

Maryland Sign Patrols

The state of Maryland actually patrols on the weekends to remove illegal signs in the right-of-way on state roads. All roads with route numbers (i.e., Routes 108, 32, 29, 175, 40, etc.) are subject to Maryland law.

According to Gary Bowman, chief of the Outdoor Advertising Section in the State Highway Administration (SHA), 21,000 signs have been removed since May 1997, at a cost of $20,000 to the taxpayers. “To me, it’s a big waste of money to pay for fixing something that people shouldn’t be doing in the first place,” complained Bowman.

For SHA, the biggest violators are builders and real estate agents advertising model homes, open houses and properties for sale. Bowman said, “According to the builders, they’d lose 70 percent of their business if they took down roads signs…We wouldn’t mind a few signs if they didn’t go hog-wild with them.”

This year, in reaction to a bill before the House and Senate, which became Maryland Annotated Code 21-205, a task force was formed of private citizens, advertisers and the SHA. The law states that no sign should be placed near or around traffic signs or signals; advertisers may not post the words “stop,” “curve,” “warning,” “slow,” “danger,” “look,” “listen,” “school” or any other word related to the movement of traffic; signs can be removed by SHA at their discretion; and all signs placed on private property must be approved by SHA.

In trying to resolve the restrictive language of 21-205, SHA officials gave alternative solutions to complaining business owners.

“We suggested advertising on the Internet, at shopping centers, using existing billboards, including better maps in promotional materials, just advertising other ways than posting signs on the roads — basically using the current media out there better,” Bowman added.

In addition to 21-205, the Federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965 restricts signage advertising off-site businesses. Armed with these two laws, the SHA goes to work.

They crack down on offenders in various ways. A work crew goes out every weekend to a different location in Maryland and removes illegal signage. And if you are caught putting up an illegal sign, a Maryland State police officer can and will give you a ticket. Additionally, your business will receive warnings in the mail for repeat sign offenses.

What makes a sign illegal on Maryland state roads is very simple: just about every sign is illegal. All signs in the right-of-way are illegal. The “right-of-way” is defined as the area measured from the centerline into the shoulder. For example, Route 40 has a 75-foot right-of-way, which means that from the yellow centerlines out 75 feet on the left and 75 feet on the right, all signs are prohibited. This area is reserved for utility lines and poles, traffic lights, street signs and the shoulder.

Howard County Sign Investigations

For Howard County, signs are not monitored but are investigated on a complaint basis. Fines up to $250 a day can be levied for violations. County right-of-way laws are similar to the state’s laws. For both county and state roads, signs can be placed on roadsides, out of the right-of-way, with the proper permits.

The county, too, can investigate complaints, remove signs and fine businesses — and they do. According to the owner of a Columbia bridal shop, her sign has been removed over and over, and the county regularly calls to tell her not to put up these signs. But she claims that the signs are key to maintaining her business flow.

“Just today, someone called because they saw the sign and came to visit our store. Whenever it is slow, we say, ‘It’s time to go put up some signs,’” said the owner, who asked not to be named. She claimed Jim Rawle, Howard County’s Sign Code Administrator, has called in the past. “He hasn’t called for awhile; I hope he doesn’t call,” she said.

Jim Rawle probably will call again. According to other sign code experts and local businesses, Rawle has been in the field for more than 20 years and is tough on sign code violators. But due to his budgetary constraints, Rawle can’t crack down like he used to.

After a woman who was an investigator for his unit decided to stay at home with her two children, her position was never filled, and Rawle has been down one player. Without an investigator, Rawle and his team are forced to handle the sign code violations on a complaint basis.

For Sale and For Lease signs may appear on the property being advertised. Private property of less than two acres can only use a sign 6' by 6'. If the property is over two acres, the sign can be 32' by 32'. The regulations for For Sale and For Lease signs on commercial property depend on whether the property is retail, industrial, stand alone or in a group building.

Each sign that is put up within the requirements needs a permit, even if the sign is on a building. Additionally, each street has a setback requirement, or number of feet that signs must be set back from the street in order to be legal. For Sale and For Lease signs are exempt from setback requirements in Howard County.

Columbia Sign Review

If a business is also in Columbia, the sign must be submitted to an architectural review board. Each of the original villages has its own review board, and The Rouse Company has a board.

Violations are handled on a complaint basis in Columbia as well. “Most of the signs that are reported wouldn’t have been approved in the first place. That’s why no one submitted them to the review board. But if signs are submitted and approved they can go back up,” explained Tom Brudzinski, director of Design for The Rouse Company.

Brudzinski said that the 15,000 to 16,000 acres in Columbia that were originally owned by Howard Research & Development and have not been switched over to a village are monitored by Rouse’s own review board.

Then, there are parts of Columbia proper that are not really Columbia. “The little pockets on Broken Land Parkway in between Oakland Mills Road and Snowden River, for example, aren’t Columbia. People complain, but we can’t do anything. Some of the biggest, gaudiest signs are there, but they aren’t in our jurisdiction,” explained Brudzinski.

Some businesses have come to an agreement with the county. Arrel Anderson, who sells roses along the roadside for R&R Wholesalers said, “The police know who we are. Sometimes they tell us to move a sign because it is blocking traffic, but as long as it’s not blocking traffic, they don’t care.”

So while there are tacky, gaudy signs all over the county, most are not allowed. But with a lack of funds, the local governments can only do so much. The main way citizens can help is by calling the county and their local village covenant advisors to complain. Once a complaint is lodged, it is investigated, and the sign is taken down if it is in violation of laws. After a certain number of warnings, fines can be levied.

But until then, the business owners who see roadside signs as a viable way to advertise their business will most likely continue. “We can’t survive without letting our customers know we’re all the way back here in this industrial park,” said the manager of a hobby store in Oakland Mills, who asked not to be mentioned for fear of Jim Rawle’s call.