City to remove illegal signs week of March 30

posted on: 3/27/2015

The City of Dover Department of Planning and Community Development will conduct a citywide clean-up of unpermitted, temporary advertising signs the week of March 30, 2015. Illegal and unpermitted signs include those on utility poles or in the right of way.

The placement of signs in public rights-of-way and medians, on utility poles and attached to trees is not permitted under the City’s zoning code. Illegally posted advertising signs may create a safety hazard for traveling motorists and can be unsightly for residents.

“In addition to eliminating safety hazards and improving aesthetics, removing illegal signs also helps to ensure that those who follow the rules can rest assured their efforts to comply with the sign ordinance are meaningful and that the violations of others are not tolerated,” said Tim Corwin, Assistant City Planner.

The cleanup will be the first of 2015, and the first in over a year. Corwin said he is pleased with the results of the multi-year effort.

“The fact that we have not had to conduct a sign sweep in over a year reflects what we think is an extremely successful code enforcement strategy,” Corwin said.

The City’s focus on efficient and effective enforcement of the ban on illegal off-site advertising began in 2010, and initially required sign sweeps conducted on a quarterly basis.

Business owners who have placed these illegal signs are advised to remove them in advance of the City's clean-up effort. Confiscated signs are held for 30 days prior to being recycled or destroyed, unless the sign is claimed by the owner after paying a reclamation fee based on the actual cost of staff hours and equipment use. Repeat offenders may be subject to prosecution and fines.

For more information, please contact Tim Corwin, Assistant City Planner, at 516-6008 or t.corwin@dover.nh.gov.