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# A troubling sign
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/a-troubling-sign/
- Published: 2026-06-10T00:15:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-10T00:15:18.000Z
- Description: The visual pollution ordinances exist. The court exists. The enforcement doesn't.
- Author: JR Ball

East Baton Rouge Parish has ordinances banning illegally placed signs in medians and another requiring abandoned business signs to be removed within 15 days. There's also a dedicated Blight Court. What's missing is anyone seriously enforcing any of it.

**Why it matters:** Streetscapes riddled with the visual pollution of illegally placed signs in rights-of-way and the decaying calling cards of shuttered businesses are not only an eyesore but also have economic consequences for a city.

**Not just a we problem.** Cities across the South face the same gap between law and enforcement.

- Jacksonville, Florida, earned the nickname "Trashville" from its own residents over the same failure.
- St. Petersburg, Florida, ran a self-funding program—fine revenue offset the inspector's cost—until a new administration killed it.
- The answer to all your questions is money. City-parish officials say there isn't enough funding to get tough on visual pollution.
- As *Seinfeld* histrionically told us, the holding is "really the most important part of the reservation. Anybody can just take them."

**An obvious flaw:** Baton Rouge's enforcement is complaint-driven and deadline-dependent.

- Businesses running a weekend sale know the math: put the signs out, run the promotion, ignore the notice, pull them on day 14\. Free advertising, courtesy of municipal indifference.
- Since the city-parish revamped Blight Court, fine collections have been abysmal—the vast majority of property owners don't pay.
- Each unaddressed blight citation [suppresses nearby property values](https://econsultsolutions.com/economic-case-for-fixing-blight-baltimore-case-study/?ref=redeyebr.com) by 0.4%.

**💡 An idea:** Inspired by A&E's *Parking Wars*, the city-parish contracts with a private company on strict commission—no budget outlay required.

- Agents fan out across EBR, issue violations on the spot and confiscate signs as evidence.
- The key legal fix: anyone [advertised on a sign](https://www.cityofbartow.net/509/Snipe-Signs?ref=redeyebr.com) is presumed responsible for its placement. The phone number on the sign is the citation.
- Proceeds from a $100 fine split three ways: 55% to the contractor/ticket issuer, 30% to the city-parish general fund and 15% to the Blight Court.
- Cases go before an elected, at-large Blight Court judge—one parishwide position, one standard, one public docket.
- The political bonus: the moment a Metro Council member's campaign signs get ticketed, candidates learn fast they're responsible for what their workers and affiliated PACs plant in the ground.

**The bottom line:** The laws exist, the court exists and the violators are identifiable—their phone numbers are literally on the signs.