BG city staff unbox yard sale do's and dont's

In Battle Ground, summer is the busiest time of year for garage and yard sales, but it is also the busiest time of year for code enforcers as residents unknowingly violate city code.

Because of these violations, city staff, including Communications Manager Alisha Smith are informing the public on the “do’s and don’ts” of yard sales.

“We have been fielding several phone calls as we’ve entered into what we call ‘garage sale season,’” Smith explained. “We have had a lot of conversations with citizens. Various staff members have tried to help them through understanding where a sign can be placed.”

Last week, Community Development Director Kristen Lehto explained that one of the most misunderstood aspects is where residents can place their yard sale signs. According to the city’s municipal code, sale signs cannot be placed in the public “right of way,” which includes street medians, sidewalks and extra space behind sidewalks for utility poles.

“A point of reference would be if you have a water meter out in front of your house … Anything behind that, headed towards the house, is likely your private property,” Lehto said.

The only exception is for a resident to place a sign on another person’s private property, Lehto said. Should a resident wish to advertise sales from further than their yard, they will need another property owner’s permission.

Residents can place any number of signs as they wish as long as they do not take up more than 6 square feet per yard. Before events, sale signs can be placed for a maximum of seven days. Signs should be taken down immediately once sales have concluded, however. City code enforcers will remove signs 24 hours after sales conclude if found. Smith noted this rule is important to follow should a resident wish to reuse the sign, as city staff dispose of signs immediately once confiscated.

“We don’t have the storage capacity, and, oftentimes, our operation crews are removing them in the midst of other activities they’re doing, whether it’s mowing the right of way or doing other maintenance activities. We do not have a mechanism for arranging sign pickups,” Smith said.

As is the case in most Clark County cities, residents are limited in how many garage or yard sales they can have in a year. Battle Ground limits homeowners to a maximum of three annually.

Residents can learn more about Battle Ground’s rules for yard and garage sales at cityofbg.org/DocumentCenter/View/6087/Garage-Sale-Sign-Handout.