Ocoee considers stricter law on sign spinners

Residents may see fewer sign spinners if a proposed law is ratified during the May 2 commission meeting.

By Gabby Baquero
| 2:05 p.m. April 26, 2017

A sign spinner holds a sign on the sidewalk at the intersection of Maguire Road and West Colonial Drive. If passed, the ordinance will forbid human signs from being located on any city rights-of-way.

West Orange Times & Observer
News

OCOEE – Citing safety concerns, city leaders are considering a law meant to discourage sign spinners at Ocoee intersections.

The proposed law would allow police to penalize sign spinners located on public property with $100 fines.

“We wanted to reduce the number of distractions on our roads and right-of-ways to ensure the safety of people coming and going through Ocoee,” Ocoee Police Deputy Chief Steve McCosker said of the law.

If the law, scheduled for its second reading and public hearing on May 2, is approved, sign spinners will need to remain located on the same parcel or common areas within which the business, commodity, service or product is located.

In addition, businesses only are allowed one human sign; and human signs, defined as “commercial signs that are continuously held, spun or attached to a person that advertise a business, commodity, service or product,” may not exceed 2 feet by 4 feet in size.

If passed on May 2, the ordinance will become effective immediately. However, the Ocoee Police Department hopes to first educate those they catch in violation before assessing any citations on the sign spinners, who would end up receiving the financial penalties, McCosker said. The penalties would not be increased on repeat offenses, he said.

“They might be doing it because the business had asked them to, but it’s still the person that would be doing the violation,” he said. “And again, that’s why we want to do a heavy education campaign first, because we’re looking to get people off the road right-of-ways so that they’re not distracting drivers — we’re not looking to be in the business of issuing citations.”

Despite the type of restrictions, McCosker does not expect the proposed ordinance will decrease the demand for sign spinners.

“It’s not a ban on sign spinning, so (businesses) can still use sign spinners on their properties,” he said. “So, really, in a lot of cases, we’d only be backing them up about four or five feet.”

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].