Hillsborough County, Cities Target Snipe Signs In Joint Effort

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Ridding Hillsborough County of illegal "snipe" signs, the kind hastily stuck in the ground or attached to utility poles, was the mission of a combined force of code enforcement officers from Hillsborough County and the cities of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City.

The concerted half-day operation took place Oct. 21. Officers from the four local governments collected and disposed of thousands of the flimsy signs advertising home buyers, work-from-home jobs, furniture movers and an endless variety of other goods and services.

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Hillsborough County and city ordinances prohibit displaying signs on public property or rights of way without valid permits. Signs placed illegally may be collected by officials and destroyed or recycled.

Code enforcement officers and volunteers who assist them routinely pick up snipe signs in public rights of way. The special effort, dubbed Sign Off Day Tampa Bay, called attention to the prevalence of the illicit advertisements and the public servants who remove them. The detail coincided with National Code Enforcement Month.