Realtor Wars Caught on Camera!

I was perusing the recent blog posts for yesterday and today, and came across the piece below. As many people know, especially during election time, yard signs tend to grow legs and walk away, get torched, or vandalized in many different ways. Most of the time, there really isn't much that authorities can do to combat this type of behavior because they generally don't have evidence as to who the vandalizing party is. Art Mullen, of South Mills, North Carolina, decided to take extra measures and caught his vandal on camera...

A Fort Mill real estate agent ended up in handcuffs after he was allegedly caught on tape cutting down a competitor's business sign.

"Shows him vandalizing the sign, stomping down the sign, that's when I called the authorities," said realtor Art Mullen.

NewsChannel 36 cameras were there when deputies with the York County Sheriff's Office took real estate agent Daniel LaFranca Jr. into custody Monday afternoon. The deputies were serving a damage of property warrant.

"Were you vandalizing your competitor's signs?" we asked LaFranca as deputies escorted him into a squad car.

"Not at all," LaFranca responded.

However, Mullen says his hidden camera video solved a five-month mystery.

"I've had a lot of my signs go ahead getting cut up, stolen, vandalized and I never really knew who it was," Mullen said. "I was frustrated. So what I did is I had some friends and some colleagues, we set up video surveillance."

Mullen claims the surveillance video shows his former boss, LaFranca, using a box cutter to slash his sign.

"He signed a non-compete clause with my company," LaFranca told us of Mullen.

Mullen says he's done nothing wrong and has had hundreds of signs either stolen or damaged after he stopped working for LaFranca.

"We didn't leave in the best of terms," Mullen said. "I made a lot of money in that company."

LaFranca denies wrongdoing.

"That's not you on video?" we asked LaFranca.

"Not that I know of," he responded.

Mullen says it's the ugly side of business during struggling housing market.

"I think it's a sign of the times," said Mullen.

The York County Sheriff's Office told NewsChannel 36 LaFranca wouldn't face jail time, but if found guilty he could end up paying a fine.

Gwynn~

Original story by MARIO ROLDAN
NewsChannel 36 Posted: Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2009

Do as I say and not as I do?

Everything from hot air balloon rides and hired painters, to health clubs and real estate opportunities were being advertised on the cardboard, paper and plastic signs. Some had specific dates that had passed long ago and other signs were for companies that no longer existed, according to Rose Ann Lafferty, zoning officer for the township.

More than 1,000 signs that had been littering the townships roadways were cleaned up last week. Mayor Matthew Lyons said they were violating township codes and he ordered they be removed. Lyons said the signs were violating a section of the township's code, which bans any portable signs in all zoning district, signs attached to public utility poles and trees, homemade signs "that are not professional in appearance," and signs that advertise businesses not located in the township.

"These signs were creating blight in the community," Lafferty said. "After the cleanup the response from residents has been fantastic."

Four township employees spent eight hours each taking down the signs from grassy areas and telephone polls, according to Jeff Moore, the township's director of technology and constituent services. He said this was just a cleanup, but "If there are repeat offenders noticed, there will be steps made to take action."

There has been a lot of these type of stories from many different townships over the last several months. It would appear that many towns and counties are cracking down farther on signage. I realize that this has been an issue for a while now but, despite the sign ordnance codes, signs have continued to be a necessary evil when it comes to promoting business. So I pose this question with the hope that you, the readers, can give me an answer that makes some sense:

Why is it that in an economy that is so obviously in need of all the help it can get, are townships pulling down and throwing away necessary advertising? Now wait... because this is a two part question. Why is it that other such signs used in advertising political figures are given a unanimous okay and allowed to clutter the landscape? Which signs do the most good here? The ones that promote a business or service and helps bring money into the economy... or the signs that promote a political figure that, once in office, will conveniently forget all the promises they made about strengthening that same economy? Hmmmmm... something to ponder. Now, don't get me wrong. I understand that there should be limits to this sort of signage all around... otherwise our roadways would look like dumps. And I completely agree that this same signage should be professional in appearance and removed after a period of time. But you never hear of political figures being fined for leaving their signs out for six months after an election is over. Is this just another case of do as I say and not as I do? I don't have the answer to that question but I would hope that, in future, sign ordnance codes will allow for equality in advertising.

Gwynn~

Original story By Jessica Beym.

Operation Clean Sweep!

Operation "Clean Sweep" (as I like to call it), was enacted on February 28, 2009, by Pete Constant and a group of volunteers partnered with code enforcement to sweep the neighborhoods of San Jose clean of signs.

"No signs are allowed on the city's property or on telephone poles regardless of the message," said Matthews, the code enforcement division manager. After fielding countless complaints about signs in his constituents' neighborhoods, one city councilman recently decided to take matters into his own hands. More than 80 students, parents and members of the surrounding neighborhood associations, scoured the streets to get rid of temporary signage such as "garage sale" signs, "open house" signs, "for sale" signs, etc. The group removed more than 300 signs.

This was the first organized sweep ever conducted by a public-private partnership in San Jose to address a community concern. Though volunteers had never been utilized in such an action, it is apparent that they were up to the task and willing to answer the call. This poses a question: How many more community partnerships might be called for in future? And where? With ordnance codes becoming stricter as time goes by, this author is left to wonder where companies will find themselves standing when it comes to affordable advertising. Though sign ordnances differ with each city, county or state, there has always been a way for wily businesses to skirt the edges and advertise their services and/or products with this type of cheap signage. I have to wonder if this type of community sweep will become a catchy thing for other neighborhoods. If so, I'm afraid that the average small businesses public exposure will become severely limited.

Gwynn~

Original story: San Jose neighbors hit the streets in search of illegal signs
By Tiffany Carney
West San Jose Resident
Posted: 03/03/2009 06:15:34 PM PST

Neighborhoods oppose bright LED signs near homes

Some neighborhood activists are appalled by LED signs such as this outside ACE Hardware on Highway 100. Many council members, however, think that some places should be allowed to have the signs to get attention along busy streets.

Photo by: Josh Anderson/ For the Tennessean
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The possibility that electronic signs will go up in residential areas of Nashville has neighborhood groups feeling anxious again, a year after a Metro Council proposal fell by the wayside. Though the council bill to let churches and schools put up light-emitting diode signs in residential zoning districts was deferred indefinitely last March, it inspired the creation of a task force to study sign issues and recommend changes. The task force, appointed last summer, is now close to finishing its work and submitting legislation to the council. Members of the panel, which will meet at least one more time, said much of their work has focused on LED signs, the kind used by some banks, chain drugstores, auto dealerships and other businesses.

while some folks like Councilman Charlie Tygard still believe churches and schools should be able to post the signs in certain situations, Trish Bolian, a member of the task force, is considerably against such a notion... as are many others.

"We could look like a neon Christmas tree overnight. Who needs to put a sign up that there's a PTA meeting Tuesday at 7?" she said. "There are other ways to communicate."

"An awful lot of citizens believe LED contributes to the so-called visual clutter we'd all like to minimize," said Allen, who lives in the Hillsboro-West End area.

While it is apparent that these signs can draw in passing motorists, it is even more so that such signs may begin to go the way of the Dodo in Nashville. It is still unclear as to what changes will go into effect, but the task force intends to find a way for the Metro Codes Administration to fully enforce compliance with the existing sign laws but Sonny West, Metro's zoning administrator, said it's difficult for the undermanned Codes staff to force business owners to obey the law at all times.

Gwynn~

For more information on this story, please click here.