Larry Kleinhenz
A Bartholomew County commissioner took a moment this week to address a “pet peeve” of his as the community heads towards the election this fall — political yard signs. More specifically, signs placed where they shouldn’t be.
Signs of any kind are prohibited in right-of-ways, but that hasn’t stopped candidates and their supporters from sticking them in the ground there in the past, Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz, R-District 1, said. He added he hopes the county won’t tolerate the violations, with some exceptions.
“If we see yard signs in the county right-of-way, and it’s obvious that it’s one of those drive-by placements where people just jump out of the car at an intersection and stick a yard sign up, pull them up,” Kleinhenz said. “If it’s a ‘Kleinhenz for commissioner’ sign, pull it up and throw it away, because I didn’t place it.”
“If you find one of Larry’s, pick it up and give it to me, I’ll sell it back to him,” Commissioner Tony London, R-district 3, joked.
The city and county zoning ordinances only addresses signs in the right-of-way in part. More specifically, Zoning Ordinance Section 10(G)(2) outlines rules for signs, but just those that are primarily on private property and encroach into a public right-of-way, according to the planning department.
Because the zoning ordinance only regulates private property and has limited-to-no authority over public right-of-ways, their management falls to the board of works for the city, the county commissioners for the county, and INDOT for state right-of-ways.
“I saw one, it’s not in the county, but I saw one in the right-of-way at the cemetery the other day, and I thought that was in poor taste,” London said.
County Code Enforcement Director Michelle Cox said the rules are clear.
“The rules for political signs in the right-of-way is there’s not supposed to be any signs, period,” Cox said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s political or any other kind of signage, it’s not to be put in the right-of-way.”
Often times, county officials said, the person putting a political sign there isn’t the candidate, but rather someone just trying to help.
“If it’s in somebody’s front yard, and it happens to be in the county right-of-way, don’t pull it up,” Kleinhenz said. “But if it’s at a stop sign and somebody sticks it right there, pull it up, it’s in the county right-of-way and it shouldn’t be happening.”
Cox said county code enforcement has yet to receive any calls or complaints regarding the signs quite yet, but they have had in the past. She said if code enforcement does come across a sign in the right-of-way, Zoning Enforcement Officer Tony Darnall would take the signs and bring them to the basement of the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building. Darnall then would call whichever corresponding political party so they can come pick the signs up.
