Deschutes County Road Department proposes ban on temporary political signs in road rights of way

(Update: Adding video, comments by county road director)

They say no other Oregon public agency allows them

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) - The Deschutes County Road Department wants to ban political signs in roads right of way, saying that not only is it a time-consuming enforcement task -- it goes against state statute, and no other entity in the state allows them, even during campaign season.

Deschutes County Code 10.05 "allows for the permitting of political signs as temporary activity signs within a public road." Officials say the county appears to be the only road agency in the state that permits these political signs in public rights of way.

In a memo to commissioners (see below) for a work session and public hearing this week, County Engineer and Assistant Road Department Director Cody Smith wrote, "The County's current permitting of political signs within public rights of way is inconsistent with rules and messaging from all other public road agencies in Deschutes County and Oregon who actively prohibit political signs on their rights of way."

Smith says the program is also extremely problematic for several reasons.

Improperly placed signs can be safety hazard for drivers on the road, he wrote: "The improper placement of temporary activity signs along a road can compromise the safety of road users by interfering with traffic control devices, restricting sight lines, or causing distraction."

State statutes, he said, only allow for temporary signs for "non-commercial community or civic activities," and political signs would not fall into this category.

County Road Department Director Chris Doty said the current rules have been in place since the early to mid-1990s.

“And as times have gotten a little more chippy, I guess, politically, we aree looking a little bit closer at state law with regards to what we're actually allowed to permit within the right of way,” he said.

"Candidates generally want to locate their signage on the busiest roads, right?" Doty said. "Well, they'll put a sign in a road right of way adjacent to someone's house that maybe they don't support that political candidate or just simply don't want any signage in front of their their home. And so we do get those complaints here frequently."

Doty says there's also a safety concern, as the signs can be distracting to drivers.

Commissioners met with staff at Monday afternoon's work session to discuss the proposed changes, and a public hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday.