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Bandit signs have been banned in public rights of way by state law since 2007, but that hasn’t stopped them from showing up on roadsides, utility poles and even in neighborhoods.
In northwest Harris County, these public rights of way—usually defined as the area from the center of the road out to about 30 feet toward the sidewalk on each side—have been staged as a battleground by public officials and community residents who have been combating illegal bandit signs for decades.
Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman has led the charge with a group of environmental deputies and civilian volunteers who are trained in how to identify and remove signs from areas where they don’t belong.
An uptick in bandit signs along the FM 1960 corridor between I-45 and Highway 249 led him recently to seek approval from the County Commissioner’s Court for “a list of civilian personnel to enforce Bandit Sign Laws in accordance with the Transportation Code,” according to court documents.
“These signs are becoming more and more prevalent,” Herman said. “Citizens hate them, they’re distracting, and they trash up the area.”
The penalties for cluttering up rights of way with signs like “We pay cash for houses” or “No credit needed” are administered two ways. On the criminal side, placing illegal bandit signs is a Class C misdemeanor, which carries up to a $500 fine.
The only catch, Herman said, is that deputies have to witness a person in the act, and these types of offenders are usually hired to go out and place signs in the predawn hours.
The other penalty is a civil offense, levied against businesses deemed to be repeat offenders. If a business is deemed to be skirting the law by continuing to have their bandit signs placed, they can face fines of up to $1000 per day.
In 2013, the county doled out a $106,000 judgment against a credit repair company for violating the bandit sign law. Herman said residents continue to reach out asking what they can do.
“People want communities clean from trash and clutter,” he said.
One of the ways that Herman’s office, along with the county commissioners court, helps empower residents to declutter their neighborhoods is by offering a state certified bandit sign ranger course.
“I’m probably the only constable doing this,” Herman said. “We’re very progressive up here.”
The class teaches volunteers how to pick up and photograph signs. Volunteers can then work with the county attorney’s office to fill out forms to identify companies and file suit, brought by the county attorney, against the company owners.
A community activist who helped set up this collaborative course between the agencies and the public named Larry Lipton was part of the cohort led by State Rep. Patricia Harless, who in 2009 got the bill passed that allowed the state to go after companies.
Lipton has been removing bandit signs for 20 years and said although the county attorney has limited resources, it’s good they have volunteers willing to assist in the effort. He helps volunteers understand the “broken windows” theory as a guide for how offenders may think residents view their community if they allow it to be overrun with signs.
“This is one piece for a cure for less crime in the community,” Lipton said.
Two community members who have taken the bandit sign ranger course, Mary Joseph and Betty Sperry, are active in fighting what Joseph calls the bandit sign “infestation” in their area. Both are decades-long residents who have seen a growing number of bandit signs across the area, which Joseph said looks more rundown than it did 20 years ago.
“When people see this, what are their first impressions … when they drive into 1960?” Sperry said. She was involved with the Renaissance 1960 revitalization initiative a decade ago, which she said, “sort of fell by the wayside,” but got back into the effort when she saw a Nextdoor post from Joseph about the bandit signs.
Joseph put together a group who went through the bandit sign course. She said that from March to June, about 15 people reported they had removed 790 signs from roadways and nailed to utility posts from up and down FM 1960 and cross streets near Champions, Old Oaks, Ponderosa and Huntwick Forest.
“Most community members don’t appreciate the signs,” Joseph said. “I don’t believe they get a lot of paying customers.”
Several businesses that have placed bandit signs were contacted, but all declined to comment for this story.
Joseph and Sperry are concerned for the environment, safety of workers who have to repair the poles, and traffic risks to the community from distracted drivers. The signs may also be detrimental to longtime area businesses that Joseph said must compete with bandit signs getting in the way of their own legitimate signage. Businesses are being forced to abide by “one set of rules and having to deal with people using another,” she said.
The group is able to pull down between 300 and 400 signs per month. Even with what some may regard as significant progress for volunteers “between 40 and 50” with a few retirees Sperry said, she wishes they had more help.
“It would be great if we had stiffer rules beyond the laws,” she said.
Residents like Joseph recognize that the FM 1960 area is a “sitting duck customer for bandit sign offenders” and that law enforcement personnel have more important work to do, but she wants to assist them without being a burden.
She keeps an open communication channel with the group via Facebook and understands that more people will join in if they can go at their own pace without too many restrictions.
“Keep it simple, get the job done,” she said.
Ultimately, she wants the kinds of efforts her group undertakes to spread across the county and into other communities. “If people stop tolerating it, maybe people will stop doing,” Joseph said.
Sperry’s message for would-be bandit sign offenders is clear: “Stop nailing this trash up,” she said. “We don’t want it