Sign Removal

Sign Removal Program

Report an Illegal Sign

Pierce County Code, Chapter 12.28

Determining Right-of-Way

Pierce County Code, Chapter 18B

Frequently Asked Questions

Missing a Sign?

Current Events

Pierce County's illegal sign removal program resumed on August 12, 2009.

Program Highlights:

Total Signs Removed - 2009: 1,618
Total Signs Removed - 2010 (through March 23rd): 450
2009 Expenditures: $10,190
2010 Expenditures: $12,640
Approximately 30% of signs removed were classified as 'Derelict' signs (abandoned, illegible and/or mutilated)

Monthly intersection and quarterly arterial sweeps will continue through 2010.

The main goal of the program is to achieve compliance with sign laws and provide safety in the county's right-of-ways. The program will be monitored to track results. The past six months of program stats show well over a 50% reduction in illegal sign placement from 2008 - 2009 levels, and this trend is expected to continue.

Level of Service

Any sign in the ROW that poses a hazard to the traveling public will be removed as soon as is practicable once Road Operations becomes aware of it.
The top 10 - 15 intersections affected by illegal sign placement will be addressed on a frequency (monthly or quarterly) to clean the intersection and to discourage future placement of signs.
The County's high volume arterials will be swept quarterly to clean the roadside and to discourage future placement of signs
Sign related service requests (RFAs) will be addressed coincident with the above mentioned sign removal activities.
Repeat offenders will receive a letter informing them that their signs have been removed and explaining Pierce County sign laws.

Determining Right-of-Way

The only 100% reliable means to determine a ROW boundary is to conduct a legal survey and to apply the laws of land surveying to any existing prescriptive maintenance rights/responsibilities. Because of the resource requirements and costs, it is not realistic to conduct land surveys countywide in support of a sign removal effort. Instead, crews identify the ROW boundary by the roadside features that are consistently placed at this boundary (i.e. utility poles, phone pedestals, electrical vaults, etc.). If these features are not immediately present, then the apparent edge of maintenance may be used as a guide.

General Right-of-Way Field Assessment Sketch

The History of Pierce County's Sign Removal Program

The Pilot - In response to a high volume of feedback from constituents, the Pierce County Council determined that the number of signs being placed illegally in the right-of-way (ROW) had become a priority issue. During the first quarter of 2007, the Council asked the Departments of Public Works & Utilities and Planning and Land Services to conduct a sign removal pilot program.

In June 2007, the Council amended Pierce County Code 12.28. The Council identified a 55 square mile area within central Pierce County as the pilot area. The Sign Removal Pilot Program began in July 2007. Total cost for the project was $36,588 and averaged $8.66 per sign removed. A total of 4,226 signs were removed, documented, and disposed of from 332 lane miles of right-of-way, with an average of 13 signs per lane mile.

Prior to, during, and following the pilot, the council conducted public outreach including televised public service announcements and press releases in local print media. KIRO TV & KOMO TV covered the sign removal pilot kickoff, including an interview with Council Member Roger Bush. During the pilot, Council staff and Public Works & Utilities employees spoke with many realtors and other sign owners. During these conversations, sign owners were informed of applicable law, the details of the sign pilot, and of the Councils intent to enforce sign regulations as applied to the public road ROW.

From Pilot Project to Program - In the fourth quarter of 2007, the Council requested that Public Works & Utilities spend up to $168,000 of their 2008 budget in support of an ongoing, county-wide sign removal program. Direction to the Department was provided in the Councils adopted 2008 budget.

On February 15th, 2008, crews began removing signs on the arterial and collector roads throughout Pierce County.

Costs of the Sign Removal Program

As of August 5, 2008, Public Works & Utilities had spent $74,600 to remove just over 11,300 signs, at an average cost of $6.60 per sign removed. These costs include staff time to: remove and dispose of the signs at the recycling center; enter the sign information with related site pictures into a database; and, to manage citizen calls concerning sign removal.

Sign Removal Frequently Asked Questions

Report an Illegal Sign

If you have an immediate safety concern regarding a sign that imposes danger to the traveling public, please call (253) 798-6000, 24 hours a day - 7 days a week.

To report signs that do not impose an immediate safety hazard, please enter the information in our on-line Request for Action.

Missing a Sign?

Illegally placed signs that are picked up by a Public Works & Utilities crew are held at the Central Maintenance Facility for a minimum of one week or until the volume of signs collected warrants a trip to the recycling center.

If you believe your sign was improperly removed by a Public Works & Utilities crew, you may file a Claim for Damage with Pierce County Risk Management.