Realtors Chafe Against Open House Signage Restrictions

Some Wyckoff realtors are saying a local ordinance is making it difficult for them to sell a home in town.

At last week's Township Committee meeting several realtors turned out to express dismay at an enforcement crackdown on a long standing ordinance that prohibits the directional signage they use to advertise weekend open houses. Although the ordinance has been on the books for several years, a few weeks ago realtors say the township committee sent a letter saying the signage restriction would be strictly enforced following complaints from residents.

Roseann Thompson, a sales associate at Weichert Realtors who has 25 years experience selling homes, believes much of the weekend open house traffic will dry up without directional signage pointing the way.

"It's particularly important when the house is located on a side street and you have someone that's not familiar with the community coming in to take a look at the house. Those signs are very helpful for them to find the property," Thompson said.

Mayor Kevin Rooney said the township didn't decide to begin strict enforcement of the ordinance arbitrarily, but rather acted after hearing concerns from residents who grew tired of signage cluttering their front yards."Signage in the community, whether it be realtors or others, has become an issue for the residents," Rooney said.

"Some realtors, with respect to their open houses, have not really respected property owners ability to enjoy their own property. You have situations where realty signs have been placed on someone's driveway or  someone's front lawn and the directional sign indicating an open house is just somewhere in the vicinity without any consideration for the property owner," Rooney said. "Picture yourself coming out on a Sunday morning and you have real estate signs all over your front lawn."

For her part Thompson concedes some realtors haven't always abided by the letter of the law when it comes to signage.

"We understand their might have been some realtors that may not have been respectful of the ordinance in the past about removing the signs at the end of the day. In the past there  have been signs left out on Monday and we understand some residents may have been upset by that and the town was upset by that," she said. "But I think if we could work out a way where their were certain hours where the signs could be out that we would all have to respect...I don't see how that would be a problem."

Hilda Frisco, a long-time Wyckoff resident and Weichert realtor who's sold homes in town for 14 years, believes not only home owners and realtors will be impacted by the ordinance, but a host of other related businesses.

"It's a big hardship because it impacts not only the number of sales, but impacts home inspectors, attorneys, contractors and all the other professionals involved in a real estate transaction," she said.

Rooney said he understands the realtors concerns and is open to having further conversations.

"The township is not trying to restrict the livelihood of the realtors. There's always room for dialouge with any resident or local business," Rooney said. "Will anything change?  We'll have to see. It goes back to the 80/20 rule. Maybe 80 percent of the people do it right and 20 percent don't. Perhaps it's that 20 percent that's causing the problem...I don't know. But I'd like to hear from the realtors."