Fairfax County, VDOT agree on sign removal program

Signs along Route 7.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Virginia Department of Transportation have approved an agreement to allow the county to remove commercial and political signs in the VDOT public right of way.

This is good news for the Annandale/Mason area, as thousands of signs advertising mattresses, furniture, cash for gold, massages, and other things are cluttering our roadways.

Negotiations on this issue have been going on for more than a year. Under the proposed agreement, the Virginia Commission of Highways would authorize Fairfax County to act on its behalf to remove signs along public roads.

Inmates in the Community Labor Force (CLF), under the direction of the Fairfax County Office of the Sheriff, would remove the signs. The cost for this would be $150,000 a year. Any penalties and fees under this program would be paid to the county.

There would be an exception for signs advertising a “special event,” including realtor open house signs. Those signs could only be posted for three days, Saturday through Monday.

Under state law, VDOT has the primary responsibility for the removal of illegal signs along public roads. A law passed in July removed an exemption for political signs. But, according to a description of the proposed sign removal program by the Fairfax County Office of Code Compliance, “VDOT engages in the removal of illegally posted signs in the public right of way on a complaint basis.” VDOT sends invoices for sign removal to the business owner.

According to the report, the Adopt-a-Highway program would be unaffected by the new sign policy. The CLF would remove signs on Mondays through Thursdays. The signs would be stored at a public facility for five days. Owners could reclaim their signs within that period, and if they don’t, the signs would be destroyed.

A public hearing must be held by the Board of Supervisors before the plan can be implemented. The hearing will be Feb. 26, 4 p.m., at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. If you want to speak, you can sign up online or call 703/324-3151. People have five minutes to speak if their remarks are on behalf of an organization; three minutes if speaking as an individual.