LONGMONT — The dozens of Kony 2012 signs plastered in Longmont over the weekend are creating additional work for Longmont’s code enforcement officials.

“We’ll be out tomorrow probably taking down as many of them as we can find,” Michelle Cogswell, city of Longmont senior code enforcement inspector, said Monday.

The signs promote “Kony 2012,” a 30-minute film that the nonprofit Invisible Children released March 5. The viral video calls for the arrest of Joseph Kony, head of Ugandan militant group, the Lord’s Resistance Army. The film and campaign have been criticized for oversimplifying the situation and exaggerating details.

The film called for supporters worldwide to canvas streets with Kony posters on Friday night.

Cogswell said one staff member spotted about 50 of the signs on Hover Street between Ninth and Mountain View avenues. Because the signs were posted with double-sided foam tape and duct tape, it took about 40 minutes to remove about 20 signs, Cogswell said.

“They’re leaving a big mess,” she said.

Staff will remove signs on city rights-of-way, but it’s up to owners to remove the signs on private property.

Last year, code enforcement staff handled 179 cases in which they removed signs illegally posted on city property. That number does not include situations of other city staff removing signs they find on their work projects.

If a code enforcement inspector sees someone put up a sign on public property, the officer could write that person a summons to appear in municipal court, where a judge would determine the punishment.

But that’s rare. Cogswell said she doesn’t know of staff writing anyone up last year. Instead, staff “visit with people all the time, and try to do education,” she added.

Usually, code enforcement officials see an uptick in illegal signage in an election year, Cogswell said.

Election materials cannot be posted in any public right of way, such as light poles, traffic lights, street signs and utility boxes.

For a complete list of rules regarding signage, go to ci.longmont.co.us/code_enf/ord/political_signs.htm

In a residential area, people can put up one sign per candidate or ballot issue on a lot. The sign can be no more than 4 feet tall and 8 square feet.

For yard sales, residents are allowed to put up one 4-foot tall sign, no larger than 8 square feet, for each of their home’s street frontages. That means a house on a corner lot gets two signs, and one in the middle of a block gets one. Yard sales may have up to two off-site signs, with the owner’s permission, for up to one hour before and one hour after the sale.

How can you tell if it’s city property?

Generally, code enforcement staff tell folks if it’s behind a public sidewalk — like a home or business — it’s private property. If it’s in front of the sidewalk, it’s probably public property.

To be sure, you can check the Boulder County Assessor’s e-map, http://maps.bouldercounty.org/boco/emapping/.



Magdalena Wegrzyn can be reached at 303-684-5274 or mwegrzyn@times-call.com.