Crossville To Begin Stronger Enforcement Of Sign Ordinance Next Week

The Crossville Codes Department will begin cracking down on the city’s sign ordinances next week.

The city passed an updated sign ordinance in August, 2022. The ordinance primarily concerns signage posted in right-of-ways along streets. Codes Department Director Danny Thurman said the department has been passive in enforcing the ordinance, but that will change January 16.

“We’re just making sure people are aware of it again, and then we’re going to be actively removing those signs if they are in the right-of-way,” Thurman said. “After the 15th of January, then we’ll start actively doing that.”

Thurman said signs that close to the roadway are a safety concern because they can obstruct a driver’s view. He said he hoped getting the word out that the department will be actively enforcing the ordinance starting January 16 will encourage sign owners to be proactive.

“There will be signs that we’ll start picking up, and we’ll notify people where they can get them if they haven’t removed them,” Thurman said. “The hope of advising people now ahead of time is they’ll go ahead and remove those signs, so they won’t be in the right-of-way and we won’t have to go out and actively do that.”

Thurman said before putting out a sign to call and check with the codes department to ensure you are following all regulations. He said the new ordinance is much more thorough than the previous.

“The previous ordinance was out of date, and the city attorney advised us to redo the ordinance,” Thurman said. “We could still do some possible revisions, but what we have passed, and that’s what we are currently enforcing.”

Thurman said since August, the codes department has made various attempts to contact owners of the signs violating the ordinance. He said if they do not correct the issue the signs will be taken down by the city after January 15.

A link to the full ordinance can be found on the City of Crossville’s Facebook page.