SLT taking stab at enforcing sign ordinance

South Lake Tahoe is on a beautification quest of sorts. This means it is going to start enforcing rules on the books so the city looks better. Officials are going to start with the sign ordinance.

This means actually not allowing the illegal signs.

Businesses with a permitted sign do not need to do anything. Businesses with unpermitted signs should contact the city’s planning division to determine if their signs require a permit or not.

Unpermitted signs typically include signs added to the sides of buildings, sandwich boards displayed during times when they are not allowed, temporary signs, and various miscellaneous signs on buildings may not be permitted.

“Too many signs on buildings adds to the clutter of Highway 50 and detracts from the natural environment. With the new Fix-Up 50 Initiative, the City’s Code Enforcement Officers will initiate a community outreach and education effort requesting voluntary compliance to remove unpermitted signs. By the end of April 2015, unpermitted signs not removed will be citied,” Police Chief Brian Uhler said in a statement.

This code enforcement falls under the purview of the police department. Non-sworn personnel are used for this work.

This is what code enforcement officers plan to do:

• March: Community outreach – Explorer Scouts handing out informational brochures to all businesses on Highway 50.

• April 1-12: Code enforcement officers and planning officials to confirm/document all unpermitted signs.

• April 13-24: Code enforcement officers will visit all businesses with non-compliant signs. Notice will be given to remove signs within two weeks.

• April 27-May 11: Code enforcement staff will issue citations to violators who have not acted upon the warning. City staff will remove all signs that were not removed voluntarily to retain as evidence of the violation.

Businesses may call 530.542.6010 for more info.