Committee members raised enforcement concerns Jan. 7 about freestanding temporary signs and sidewalk pop-ups that appeared across town over the previous summer and into winter.

Commissioner Paul Wolf said the "proliferation of many freestanding signs all over town by every organization" has been an ongoing issue and suggested establishing a simple, staff-approvable application for temporary ground signs with time frames, sizes and colors. Paul added that some signs remained long after events ended: "...2 or 3 week weeks later, it was still there. So I picked it up and took it and threw it in their backyard."

Commissioner Ben Norman drew a distinction between political signs and commercial advertisements, saying, "...there is this clean distinction in my mind between a political sign and an advertisement. And, I've always kind of viewed our role is to regulate the advertisement side of signage. Political signs, I feel like, is a free speech thing." Other members echoed caution about regulating political speech while acknowledging street clutter concerns.

Staff member Nikki Sherif said she is pursuing enforcement for several signs and has sent notices; she reported two cases where signs were removed after follow-up and said she is still investigating other sites. Members asked staff to coordinate with department partners (police/DPW) about removing signs on public property and to continue enforcement where violations are clear.

Members also discussed large project signage such as a sign on Surfside Road related to a sewer project; several members said that sign would not be approvable under town signage rules and asked staff to document and follow up. Commissioner Paul Wolf offered to send a photo of the Surfside Road sign to staff for review.

No formal committee motion or vote on a new enforcement policy was recorded; the meeting closed with direction to staff to continue investigations and to provide examples of approvals where appropriate.