Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
If you live in the City of Tucson you have seen the campaign signs for Tea-Publican Tucson City Council candidate Jennifer Rawson pop up around town in the past couple of weeks. Ms. Rawson apparenlty has some over-zealous campaign workers putting up her signs.
I have seen Rawson signs attached to photo-enforcement camera poles (those have now been removed) and to Sun Tran bus stop signs (like the one in the photo). I have seen some posted on private property that I have my doubts that permission was obtained.
Where are the self-appointed guardians against campaign signs at the Arizona Daily Star to complain about this? Why is Jennifer Rawson getting a pass from the Arizona Daily Star? You guys live for this stuff!
It is true that the Arizona legislature passed a law superceding local sign code ordinances this past session that permits signs to be posted in the public right-of-way. However, this does not include such things as telephone polls, photo-enforecement camera polls, traffic control signs, bus stop signs, etc.
The revised provisions of state law are found at A.R.S. Sec. 16-1019 Parapgraphs C through H:
C. Notwithstanding any other statute, ordinance or regulation, a city, town or county of this state shall not remove, alter, deface or cover any political sign if the following conditions are met:
1. The sign is placed in a public right-of-way that is owned or controlled by that jurisdiction.
2. The sign supports or opposes a candidate for public office or it supports or opposes a ballot measure.
3. The sign is not placed in a location that is hazardous to public safety, obstructs clear vision in the area or interferes with the requirements of the Americans with disabilities act (42 United States Code sections 12101 through 12213 and 47 United States Code sections 225 and 611).
4. The sign has a maximum area of sixteen square feet, if the sign is located in an area zoned for residential use, or a maximum area of thirty-two square feet if the sign is located in any other area.
5. The sign contains the name and telephone number of the candidate or campaign committee contact person.
D. If the city, town or county deems that the placement of a political sign constitutes an emergency, the jurisdiction may immediately relocate the sign. The jurisdiction shall notify the candidate or campaign committee that placed the sign within twenty-four hours after the relocation. If a sign is placed in violation of subsection C and the placement is not deemed to constitute an emergency, the city, town or county may notify the candidate or campaign committee that placed the sign of the violation. If the sign remains in violation at least twenty-four hours after the jurisdiction notified the candidate or campaign committee, the jurisdiction may remove the sign. The jurisdiction shall contact the candidate or campaign committee contact and shall retain the sign for at least ten business days to allow the candidate or campaign committee to retrieve the sign without penalty.
E. A city, town or county employee acting within the scope of the employee's employment is not liable for an injury caused by the failure to remove a sign pursuant to subsection D unless the employee intended to cause injury or was grossly negligent.
F. Subsection C does not apply to commercial tourism, commercial resort and hotel sign free zones as those zones are designated by municipalities. The total area of those zones shall not be larger than three square miles, and each zone shall be identified as a specific contiguous area where, by resolution of the municipal governing body, the municipality has determined that based on a predominance of commercial tourism, resort and hotel uses within the zone the placement of political signs within the rights-of-way in the zone will detract from the scenic and aesthetic appeal of the area within the zone and deter its appeal to tourists. Not more than two zones may be identified within a municipality.
G. A city, town or county may prohibit the installation of a sign on any structure owned by the jurisdiction.
H. Subsection C applies only during the period commencing sixty days before a primary election and ending fifteen days after the general election, except that for a sign for a candidate in a primary election who does not advance to the general election, the period ends fifteen days after the primary election.
State law supercedes the City of Tucson Sign Code, Secs. 3-63, et seq. (Political Election Sign Rules). However, the City of Tucson Sign Code still provides the meaning of the "public right-of-way":
Street
Area between the street curb and private property
What is the public right-of-way?
The public right-of-way is the land from the curb of a street up to and typically beyond the other side of the sidewalk up to a property line designator such as a wall, fence or utility poles. It is also all the land on the medians and boulevards between the roadways. A typical example is illustrated above.
For Information or to File Complaints:
Sign Code Enforcement
Department of Neighborhood Resources
320 N. Commerce Park Loop
Sentinel Building, 2nd Floor
(520) 791-4605
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 27210
Tucson, AZ 85726-7210
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