insideyournwa.com

The city of Springdale recently enacted a more strict code regarding parking of vehicles, temporary signs, and other such code enforcement issues. Every city has laws or rules about how people can use their land. I understand the need and am in favor of such rules as long as it is really for the greater good. Philosophically I do not agree that the city should be able to tell me where on my lawn I can park my car, but there is a point where an entire neighborhood can look like a ’slum’ just because 20% of the people do not want to clean up after themselves.

As a real estate pro, I do understand the impact on home values in such an area. I think that everyone should be working towards a better quality of life, and also working towards fair property values. It is not your fault if you lose $10,000 just because your neighbor refuses to move his multiple cars.

Signs are an entirely other issue. When I had a business in Springdale I was put through the ringer in order to get a sign on my building. Permanent signs are nothing to take lightly and I am glad that the local government tries to keep our business districts from looking run down so I have no problem with that. You know me however and you know that I do have a problem…

Temporary signs are a huge marketing tool for many small businesses as well as the larger businesses. Springdale is saying that you can have a temporary sign or banner (as long as it isn’t in the right of way) for only 15 days and then you must wait 90 days to do another. For anyone doing the math out there please share with me how many days there are between Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas?

Please don’t really send me that I have a calendar. My point is that small business is the only reason our economy works. We all go to the big boxes and in fact I am in favor of many of them, but you cannot argue that small business is not the foundation on which our entire economy is built. If I have a retail store and I am having seasonal sales a huge part of my marketing effort is in temporary signs.

Temporary signs can get out of hand - if there are tons of terrible looking poster board with marker writing on it with spelling errors and other crucial errors the image being given is trashy. It reflects poorly on the City and the other businesses around it.

Moral of the story? Be a good neighbor not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it ultimately benefits you financially. If you would like to read more details about this code ordinance click here to read about it.