Many community associations have rules regarding the displaying of signs. The truth is that rules about signs differ greatly from community to community. Some communities want virtually no signage, while other communities are quite lenient about the issue; it’s even possible that certain communities do not address the subject of signs at all in their declarations.
Part of the reason for such a wide variety of rules is likely because there is a wide variety of types of and sizes of signs. There are also various reasons for posting of signs, as well as varying durations that signs might be displayed.
Questions that association boards may want to ask when dealing with signage might be…
…Is this more likely temporary/short term signage, or long term signage?
…Would allowing this type of signage tend to promote good will in the community, or would requiring this type of sign to be removed tend to have people react negatively?
Answers to those questions might be…
…Temporary/short term signage might include Realty signs, or signs placed by contractors/vendors doing work on a property (often the company offers the customer a discount if a sign is displayed);
…Allowing short term signage that celebrates accomplishments (i.e., school students being on a sports team, graduating, being accepted into a college/university, or even congratulatory birthday, anniversary, or signs about other milestones) might actually serve to promote much more good will in the community than the ill-will towards the association that might be created if the signs were required to be removed.
In any case, it is a good idea to follow the community’s declarations, and to make sure that enforcement is as consistent as possible. In fact, it might be a good idea to re-visit the declarations from time to time to see if they adequately address the issues of signage. Some consideration for inclusion in the declarations might be…
…time frames for certain types of signage (for example, perhaps one week for celebratory signs; 30 days prior to an election with removal by the day after Election Day for political signs, only while a company is actually doing work on a property or vendor signs, etc…);
…descriptions of what constitutes a “sign” (i.e., is a small flag/banner saying, “Have a nice day” displayed in a garden a “sign,” or are a high school’s logo painted on driveways throughout the community considered to be “signs”)?
Finally, when looking at declarations regarding signs, it might be a good idea to consider the practicalities of enforcement. Most community associations have rules regarding notifications and time requirements to rectify situations that do not comply with the declarations. For instance, it might be a good idea to decide whether it is worth the time and effort and expense to notify people about needing to remove signage when a temporary sign is likely to be removed before follow-up enforcement notification and measures would practically be able to be taken.
As these things are considered, it would also be good to remember that it is highly unlikely that any community association declaration will be able to address all of the nuances of all types of signage. Even simply prohibiting “all” signs could tend to bring up challenges (such as people claiming that their freedom of speech is being infringed upon). Whether or not this would actually be the case, it would be a good idea to decide whether or not it would be worth the battle in the eventuality that this type of situation should occur.
The challenge when it comes to signs will often be trying to take a balanced approach – and also to make sure that whatever decisions are made, they are done consistently across the community.
