Livermore bans on-street open house signs starting this month

Beginning this month, certain open house signs are banned in the East Bay city of Livermore, part of a larger ban on all temporary signs on public streets or sidewalks. 

The original intent of the legislation was to remove some of the Alameda County city’s proliferating political signs, according to the San Jose Mercury News. But in an effort to steer clear of possible First Amendment litigation, the ban was written to be “content neutral.” That means everything from garage sale signs to business advertisements are no longer allowed on public right of ways, although signs on private property, like front lawns, are still allowed. Downtown sidewalks are also exempt. 

Even with the carve outs and the widespread use of GPS, members of the local real estate industry said the ban would make it harder for buyers to find the area’s limited number of listings.

“Believe it or not — even with all the high-tech mapping and navigation systems that are available to homebuyers — there’s a significant number of homebuyers who use real estate open-house signs to discover homes for sale,” David Stark, a spokesperson for Bay East Association of Realtors, told the Mercury News. “Particularly in the current market where there is such low inventory and so few choices.”

Former Mayor Bob Woerner introduced the legislation at a City Council meeting in November, when he argued that the vast number of political campaign signs had led some in the community to consider them acts of vandalism or blight. At the time he said the overall ban could be modified by the City Council before it kicked in on July 1. 

A few weeks before the enforcement date, the council heard a proposal that city staff said included input from the real estate community that would have allowed the temporary signs from Thursday to Monday, so open house signs would still be allowed over the weekend, when sales events often occur. 

The council did not move the staff proposal forward, which means city workers may now remove any temporary signs that violate the ordinance. There will also be a city-run outreach effort to educate residents about the new legislation before warnings and subsequent citations begin. 

— Emily Landes

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