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<br />Councilmember Look stated the official policy should be that no signs are allowed in the right- <br />of-way, but the County and State can deal with it the way they are dealing with it. Staff should <br />pick up signage when it is convenient to do so. He expressed concern with fining individuals for <br />graduation party signs. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich inquired about returning the signs when requested. <br /> <br />Councilmember Look replied he would recommend disposing of the signs. He pointed out the <br />official policy needs to be that signs are not allowed in the right-of-way; however, there is the <br />possibility of being the only community that disallows a directional sign for Parade of Homes. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson explained as far as the role of Public Works staff, generally if they <br />notice something that is completely obvious that is within the right-of-way it is removed. If <br />there is a complaint staff will go out and measure, and if the sign is placed within the 15 foot <br />right-of-way it is removed. There are seldom complaints about garage sale signs and they are <br />generally not picked up. Parade of Homes happens on the weekends and staff is not around to <br />pick up signage on the weekends. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen stated signage should not be allowed in the right-of-way, and it also <br />becomes a littering issue. She agrees with Councilmember Look about the appropriate response; <br />she would not want someone with a graduation party to be fined. She pointed out there are <br />businesses that expect their signs to be taken and the signs are made cheap. She suggested <br />dealing with repeat offenders. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich advised it would not be recommended to remove some signs and allow <br />others. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen clarified she is not opposed to picking up all the signs if it is during a <br />routine pickup, but would not be in support of someone being fined for a graduation party sign <br />that was posted one foot into the right-of-way. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated there are liability issues associated with allowing something to be <br />in the right-of-way that can potentially be an obstruction, and with not enforcing the ordinance <br />that is in place. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich advised there would likely be a liability issue if the City knew about the <br />sign and it was a particularly obnoxious size sign. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson indicated staff removes signs that are brought to their attention or <br />that they notice as a safety issue. <br /> <br />Interim City Administrator Nelson indicated she hears there is support from four members of the <br />Council that signs should not be allowed in the right-of-way. Public Works staff will work under <br />this direction and pull signs located in the right-of-way. There will not be staff present to pull <br />signs on the weekends. She requested direction on whether to discard the signs or allow <br />individuals to pick up their signs. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / May 1, 2007 <br />Page 4 of 16 <br />