(A) No person shall place, erect, extend, project over, suspend or maintain or cause to be placed, erected, extended, suspended or maintained any sign on public property or in the public right-of-way, unless otherwise permitted by this chapter. Such activity shall constitute a nuisance and the director of public works or his or her designee shall proceed in a summary manner to abate such nuisance by causing the illegal sign to be removed immediately.
(B) The cost of the removal of any sign by city forces pursuant to this section shall be borne by the actual responsible party. The cost of removal shall be the actual cost or the standard sign-removal cost set by resolution of the City Council. For purposes of this section, any information that appears on a sign that is removed may be used to establish that the person or venue listed on the sign is the actual responsible party including, but not limited to, information identifying the real estate broker, real estate brokerage firm, real estate agent, or other person associated with the firm; the owner or lessee of property used for a commercial activity or event; or the sponsor or promoter of a sporting event, concert, theatrical performance, or similar activity or event.
(C) Violations of this section may be prosecuted or addressed through issuance of administrative citations pursuant to Chapter 1.08 including, but not limited to, § 1.08.130(A), or through any other process or procedure established or allowed by this code or applicable law.
(`78 Code, § 17.74.310.) (Ord. 2805 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2729 § 4, 2004; Ord. 2286 § 5, 1996.)