The city of Detroit has filed numerous criminal charges against a Melvindale company as a top violator of the city’s sign ordinance.
William Shaw IV of Shaw’s Plumbing, which city officials claim received several warnings for 18 months to remove unauthorized signs, was charged with 59 misdemeanor counts on Friday in 36th District Court and faces up to $29,500 in fines and 90 days in jail. The city has removed more than 615 of Shaw’s signs since February 2022 and notified the company in a December 2022 letter to remove them by Jan. 1 of this year.
Shaw’s Plumbing could not be immediately reached.
The misdemeanor charges each can carry penalties of up to 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine, said Chief Counsel Doug Baker. Violations include posting signs on city-owned properties, such as medians, utility poles and street signs, according to Katrina Crawley, assistant director of blight remediation in the general services department, who said her team sent phone calls, text messages and cease-and-desist letters to Shaw. The city also says that instead of using staple guns, Shaw used nail guns to post the signs and placed them at heights too high to reach, making them “extremely difficult” to remove.
“We want this behavior to stop. There’s a better way to advertise your business,” Crawley said. The Detroit Police Department “has authority to issue tickets…. That is, I believe, an ill use of our DPD manpower. That is why (the general services department) took the burden to put a process together where our folks were taking down the signs.”
The move is part of an effort to push Mayor Mike Duggan’s Blight to Beauty initiative, which aims to clean up eyesores and beautify Detroit.
More:Want to keep up with Detroit city government? Here are a few tips
The city identified at least 20 offenders of the ordinance. The legal effort is an attempt to crack down on the city’s top violators and will not necessarily target an individual who posts, for example, an estate sale sign, then removes it in the following days, Crawley added.
Crews photographed, time-stamped and noted the location of each sign violating city code, Baker said, adding the next step will be an arraignment on the warrants. The city had not charged others as of Monday.
“We’re taking this step and going to court and charging these crimes with the hope of deterring Shaw and anyone else that’s aware of this. This is illegal behavior. … It’s an eyesore. It’s blight,” Baker said.
Gail Tubbs, president of the O’Hair Parks Community Association, notified Crawley last year about excessive signage causing nuisances and distractions in her neighborhood.
“They are a distraction to all of the drivers,” Tubbs said. “You can promote your business in other means. Social media, I hear, can get a whole lot of people involved. … Right now I’m saying, ‘Stop, we don’t want it.'”
Duggan said “enough is enough” in a statement Monday.
“We want our residents to be proud of their communities and not have them littered with businesses who have decided these signs are the cheapest way to advertise their services.”
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact Dana: dafana@freepress.com or 313-635-3491. Follow her on Twitter: @DanaAfana.
www.freep.com
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2023/07/31/detroit-blight-shaws-plumbing-melvindale-sign-ordinance/70498370007/
