Committee hears bill to require no-trespassing signs every 250 feet along property lines

The Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee heard testimony on House Bill 4013, which would require landowners to post no-trespassing signs at intervals of no more than 250 feet along property boundaries.

Representative Slaw, who introduced the measure, told the committee the change is intended to replace the current requirement that signs be posted "at every opening" or be accompanied by a fence. "The signs must be spaced to enable a person to observe not less than 1 sign at any point of entry on the property," he said, describing how the Department of Natural Resources has interpreted "point of entry" to mean any opening in a tree line.

The bill would instead require signs "to be posted at intervals of not more than 250 feet along a boundary," Representative Slaw said, arguing that the fixed distance would "provide a clear, attainable, and reasonable standard for both the property owners and for law enforcement." He said his office reviewed the draft with the United Conservation Clubs, the Michigan Farm Bureau and the Michigan Realtors and that reactions ranged from…