The Town has begun asking the owners of signs like these, which were placed without municipal or provincial permission along Hwy. 3 near Cottonwood Drive, to remove the items. Photo by Osoyoos Times/ File - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-December 23, 2009
By Laurena Weninger – Osoyoos Times
The Town of Osoyoos is cleaning up the streets – a few signs and unlicensed vehicles at a time.
“The new Traffic Bylaw prohibits anyone from erecting or placing any sign, sign board, advertisement, advertising device on any street or arterial highway or right-of-way unless they receive written permission from the Town or in the case of arterial highway or right-of-way, the Ministry of Transportation,” said Osoyoos’s director of corporate services, Janette Van Vianen.
“It also prohibits anyone from discarding, placing, storing or displaying any refuse, garbage, chattel or obstruction on any street or arterial highway other than in compliance with the garbage collection and disposal bylaw.”
Van Vianen said the Town’s bylaw officers recently made the first sweep of the town, asking the owners of six signs – including sandwich signs and billboards – and three unlicensed vehicles that were parked on Hwy. 3 near Cottonwood Drive to remove the offending items.
Under the bylaw, which was adopted in September, items may not be placed anywhere along a boulevard that is not owned by the adjacent property owner, without permission.
“Besides some being unsightly, some created a hazard (or) obstruction for the motoring public,” said Van Vianen about why these particular signs were chosen for removal.
“This was just the start as it was the most hazardous/obstructive,” she said, adding that all owners complied with the request to remove their items and none had to be removed by Town staff.
But if the Town does have to remove objects due to non-compliance, the owner must retrieve their items within 30 days.
If an item is not claimed, it can be sold at a public auction with the proceeds of the sale first going toward the costs of the sale and the fees and expenses of the impoundment of the item, Van Vianen explained.
But even if the owner does come to retrieve his or her property after the Town impounds it, all costs and fees must be paid before the items will be returned.
[email protected]
