Proposal for use of temporary signs in Cape Coral

Everywhere you go in Cape Coral you see campaign and real estate signs, but the city might be cracking down on signs soon.

The city council is talking about making new rules for where you can put signs.

Neither realtors nor some members of the city council like it. And the city manager knows any ordinance on the location of temporary signs is tough to enforce, especially around election season.

Driving around Cape Coral it’s not hard to tell that election season is heating up. Campaign signs for local and state elections line the road and on lawns in front of homes. However, too many signs are not where they are supposed to be.

Rob Hernandez, the Cape Coral city manager shared some thoughts about the signs with WINK News.

“We are actively out there on a daily basis removing signs that are improperly placed in the right of way,” Hernandez said. “Unfortunately just as soon as we pick them up they somebody comes back out and plops them in the right of way.”

Signs became the top agenda item in the city council’s committee of the whole meeting on Wednesday. But, how can Cape Coral regulate campaign, real estate, construction signs, and more?

The proposal says to install ‘temporary’ signs, which would require approval from the property owner and signed written permission from the owner filed with the city clerk for vacant land.

Kevin Besserer, the director of public policy for the Royal Palm Coast realtor association spoke to WINK News about this.

“If we had to put in with the city’s clerk’s office, any kind of registration I believe that we would overwhelm them,” Besserer said.

Councilmember Keith Long proposed a solution to that point raised by Besserer.

“We have the authority to request written authorization, showing they have approval for the specific site. And then we would deal with the enforcement at that point in time,” responded Long.

The proposal also prohibits temporary signs in any public right of way, visibility triangle, and within five feet of another temporary freestanding sign. Council will continue to discuss the ordinance at a future committee of the whole meeting.