Year in Review: Saunders: Oxonians, Make Your Voice Heard on City’s Ordinance on Property Signs

HottyToddy.com will be releasing two of our top 50 stories of the year each day, and three throughout the weekends until New Year’s Eve! Relive the moments with us as we look back on 2016!

Mstrong>NOTE: The meeting on this ordinance has been postponed for two weeks.

Homeowners, business owners and anyone doing business in Oxford, Mississippi: a proposed law by the City Council will negatively affect your rights, so please read on.

A hearing is scheduled on February 2 at 5 p.m. in the courtroom at City Hall for a proposed ordinance relating to signs that everyone needs to attend.

Homeowners, rental property owners, and landowners will be hindered from properly selling their property if this becomes law.

Business owners will be hindered from promoting their business.

Residents and business owners will have property rights taken from them.

The ordinance calls for a limit of 365 days that a property can have a temporary sign installed. Once the sign is taken down, whether on the 365th day or any time before, the property cannot have another sign on it for 365 days.

So let’s say, for example, you have an Oxford High School sign on your yard for the school year and then you decide to sell your house. You may only have a short time remaining of your 365 days a For-Sale sign. You might have to wait a whole 365 days before putting up that For-Sale sign. One sign for 365 days during any 12 month period.

Should your house be for sale or rent, if you do not sell or rent within 365 days (which happens) you have to take down your sign and wait another 365 days to putting it back up. You can’t put up a different sign. You can’t put up any sign. Now, in the case of real estate, you may apply for a 90-day extension but you need a good reason for the extension and it may not be granted. So your house or property goes un-signed and your REALTOR cannot do his or her fiduciary duty for the sale of your house or land.

If you just had a contractor’s sign or and OHS sign or Ole Miss sign in your yard, you may not be able to put a political sign in your yard during campaign season unless you wait 365 days after you take down the other sign. It’s a free speech issue. It’s a property rights issue.

Restaurants with menu boards will lose out too. Only 365 days, then you have to wait another 365 days to put it back out on the sidewalk. If you put out a sign every one particular holiday, you cannot put that sign up the following year except 365 days after you take it down.

This ordinance affects anyone with a city water hookup.

Lafayette County residents should take note, too, because the city can annex your part of the county sometime in the future and then your property would be included in this law. This ordinance affects everyone: those who live and work in Oxford and those who do business in Oxford; those who would one day to own a house or condo in Oxford. It will also affect everyone around the country. If Oxford can pass a law like this, it sets a precedent and other towns, cities, counties and states around the U.S. can pass a law like this.

The ordinance PDFs can be clicked on proposed city sign ordinance and Petition sign ordinance.

I encourage all citizens of Oxford and Lafayette County and those who do business within Oxford to attend the meeting Tuesday and express your opposition to this. Voting by our Alderman may or may not take place on this date, but it is important for everyone to express their views.

Call your Alderman today and express your opinion, or send an email. Find his or her contact information at http://www.oxfordms.net/board-of-aldermen.

Be the voice.

Eileen Saunders is a HottyToddy.com contributor who writes on curb appeal, gardening and real estate. Eileen is a REALTOR in the Oxford office of Tommy Morgan Inc., REALTORS. You can also find her offering gardening workshops at the Lafayette Oxford Public Library. Contact Eileen at eileen@tmhomes.com or call her at (662) 404-0816. For more home tips, follow her Facebook page.