(A) (1) No person shall paint, mark, post, tack, nail, or otherwise affix any sign, advertisement, notice, picture, drawing, emblem, poster, printing, or writing, other than those placed and maintained in pursuance of law, on or to any stone, rock, tree, fence, stump, post, pole, building, or other structure, which is in or upon the right-of-way of any public street, roadway, or highway, or within 25 feet of the edge of any public street, roadway, or right-of-way where said property is not owned or subject to a lease or similarly controlled by the person placing or posting said sign, within the corporate limits of the town, including the street or highway itself, except as may be provided by the town or state for suitable road signs, danger signals, and other similar signs of an informational nature. No such sign or other marking shall be suspended over the right-of-way of any such street or highway.
(2) These prohibitions include, but are not limited to, such devices which are intended to invite or draw attention of the public to the candidacy of any person for any public office, campaign for a public issue, or to any business enterprise; and any such device which exists in violation of the provisions of this section shall constitute prima facie evidence that the person or entity whose candidacy or business enterprise appears thereon committed such violation; provided however, that the installation and/or maintenance of fire locators, newspaper, postal, or mail boxes shall not be prohibited or affected by this section.
(B) In the instance that any person desires to post any sign, advertisement, notice, picture, drawing, emblem, poster, printing, or writing, or similar instrument in an effort which one believes to be for the purpose of promoting the public interest, civic welfare, or charitable enterprises, said person may apply to the Town Council for the granting of a variance or an exception to this section upon the payment of a $10 application fee and the filing of an application as provided by the Town Council. The Mayor, upon a preliminary finding that the sign does indeed promote the public interest may grant a temporary variance or exception only until the next regularly scheduled Council meeting, at which time said applicant must appear before Council and show that the advertisement promotes the public interest, in order to have the variance or exception granted for a period not to exceed three months. Each individual sign or event shall require a separate application.
(C) Every such prohibited sign or other marking or instrument is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. Upon receiving notice of any violation hereof, the Mayor of the town may cause the prohibited sign or other marking or instrument to be removed and cause the appearance of the property upon which it was affixed to be restored, as near as may be practicable, to its condition immediately before such violation occurred. In such case, the Town Council shall be empowered to recover from the persons who committed such violation all amounts expended in causing the removal of such signs or other marking or instrument and in the restoration of the property on which it was affixed. Any signs or other instruments removed by the Mayor or town pursuant to this section shall be held by the town for a period of 30 days at which time the Town Council shall vote to dispose of or recycle the signs for any useful purpose at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
(Ord. 02-01, passed 11-26-2001) Penalty, see § 94.99