WICHITA, Kansas, May 6, 2008 – Little signs advertising garage sales or real estate, depending on where they’re placed in Wichita, could be illegal and costing the city thousands every year.

We see them at busy intersections and entrances to neighborhoods. They’re little signs that advertise things like weight loss, home businesses, real estate and even garage sales.

“They're like a magnet,” said Randy Sparkman, Sign and Zoning supervisor. “Somebody puts one down on the corner, somebody else drives by and says, ‘well, that looks like a good location for mine too,’ so it just attracts another sign.”

Cleaning up the signs costs the city thousands in personnel, vehicles, gasoline, disposal and storage. The cheap signs are thrown out; others are auctioned off; most for salvage value.

Advertising is expensive. It can cost $900 per year just for a permit for a legal billboard. That's probably why we see so many of these signs along public-right-of-ways. Bottom line, if your garage sale or real estate sign is sitting on city property, you have broken a city ordinance.

“The city owns the sidewalks on both sides of the street and everything in between,” Sparkman said. “If there's a business that just absolutely has to put it out on the city right-of-way for a reason, they can get with public works and get what we call a minor street. You have to have the privilege to do that and it costs a little bit of money.”

Cheap plastic and cardboard signs are made locally or found on the Internet for as little as one dollar per sign. Steel real estate signs cost realtors about $80 new and can be bought back from the city for $25. But most individuals don’t know that they are violating an ordinance.

“We have a lot of cooperation from people, they just didn't know that this is something illegal,” Sparkman said. “And they will correct it. Others do know they can continue to do it.”

With this being a major election year, you can expect more signs; unless of course, people elect to change their ways.