Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Inspectors to comb for sign violations

Code enforcers will cover Hillsborough Avenue looking for pole signs that don't meet code.

By JACKIE RIPLEY
Published September 11, 2005

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Hillsborough Avenue may be the gateway to Town 'N Country but it isn't always the best ambassador. It has buildings that need paint, sidewalks that need repair and medians that need attention.

But the worst offender is a preponderance of signs that block the view and blight the landscape.

"We need to improve the appearance of Hillsborough Avenue and make it more attractive," said Bill Browne, president of the Town 'N Country Alliance. "We need to level the playing field."

That could happen once a cadre of code inspectors makes its way down Hillsborough Avenue, concentrating on an area from the Veterans Expressway to Rocky Creek. They will focus mainly on pole signs, assessing their height and placement.

"We're not looking to create problems with businesses," said Andy Pfeiffer, the county's code investigator coordinating the team. But "if a sign is illegal we'll notify the owner. If they don't comply we'll refer it to a hearing master."

In 1985, the county issued rules for signs that called for 30-foot maximum heights along major traffic arteries. Older businesses got a 10-year moratorium before having to comply. But because that stretch of Hillsborough Avenue is part of the Town 'N Country Community Plan's "overlay district," those restrictions are more intense there. Business owners must limit the height of signs in that area to 15 feet.

Town 'N Country's overlay district covers an area from the Veterans Expressway to Rocky Creek and was designated during the community planning process.

Hillsborough County commissioners approved the plan in 2003. The district is subject to certain regulations under the county's land development code.

The standards are meant to shape the way a business maintains its building and grounds. They include signs, landscaping, retention areas and appearance of buildings. Existing businesses would not be affected unless they are renovated or repaired.

This year, the county provided money to create a five-person code enforcement team. Its goal is to target areas with high concentrations of sign violations.

Code inspectors are wrapping up a sweep in Brandon along a portion of State Road 60. They are concentrating on a special district that was created last year to beautify State Road 60. Within the next few months the team will move into Town 'N Country.

"We get a lot of complaints about signs in Town 'N Country so it seemed logically to be our next area," Pfeiffer said. "It just so happened that Hillsborough has an overlay district like SR 60."

Inspectors say typical code infractions in Brandon included businesses with signs that were too high and too numerous. They anticipate finding much the same in Town 'N Country.

But "the main problem we're finding is installation of signs that have not been permitted," said John Ferdon, community relations coordinator for the department of Housing and Code Enforcement.

Failure to comply could result in the property owner going before the code enforcement board, which has the authority to put liens against property. It also can impose fines of up to $1,000 a day.

Ferdon, though, said the department's main priority is compliance and the best way to accomplish that is through education.

"We're not out there to punish people," Ferdon said. "They will be given ample opportunity to make corrections and if they are working toward complying we will continue to work with them."

- Jackie Ripley can be reached at 813 269-5308 or ripley@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 10, 2005, 09:32:05]