Foley announced Monday, Jan. 12, that it has begun consistent field enforcement of the City’s sign ordinance.
The date marked the conclusion of a public notice and grace period provided to businesses in order to reset enforcement and resume consistent application of the adopted ordinance.
The enforcement effort is focused on temporary and portable sign types that are not permitted under the zoning ordinance. These include, but are not limited to, portable signs, banners, pennants, balloons, flag signs including feather and wave flags, inflatables and similar attention getting devices.
To ensure clarity and fairness, the City provided advance notice and time to adjust prior to resuming enforcement. Courtesy notices were issued to affected businesses in September and October of 2025.
The notices included example images of sign types that are not compliant and explained that a grace period was being provided. During the grace period, the City coordinated community outreach through partners, including the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and Main Street hosted a town hall meeting where signage requirements were discussed and staff answered questions.
The intent of the notice and grace period was to provide adequate time for businesses to transition to compliant options and to avoid additional investment in sign types that are not permitted.
The City recognizes that signage is important to business visibility and customer access. However, the temporary and portable sign types addressed in this effort are prohibited because they can create visual clutter along commercial corridors and reduce overall legibility.
When numerous attention-getting devices are placed in close proximity, it becomes harder for customers to identify entrances, locate destinations, and distinguish compliant, permanent signage intended to serve as the primary means of business identification. These devices can also distract drivers, particularly when they are oversized, brightly colored or moving in the wind, which can draw attention away from the roadway and interfere with sightlines.
When used in large numbers, they may block or visually compete with other businesses’ signage and degrade the overall visual quality and character of the City’s corridors and commercial areas. The ordinance is intended to support clear, effective signage within an orderly streetscape that benefits the business community as a whole.
As enforcement begins, the City will issue Notices of Violation that provide an additional compliance window of approximately 15 to 20 business days from the date of issuance for business owners and, where applicable, property owners to bring properties into compliance.
For additional information, business owners and property owners are encouraged to contact the Planning Department.