It may be a sign of the times.
Foothills County council gave first reading to an amendment for harsher penalties on billboards, particularly those trailer-type ones that pepper the highways along Highway 2 and busy corridors.
Everyone has seen them — it would take a lot more than a blink of an eye to miss the plethora of billboard-trailers along Highway 7 as one approaches the Crescent Point Field House from the west.
There have always been bylaws in the books. In fact, when the Town of Okotoks annexed land south of Okotoks, it used the present county bylaws (then MD) to remove them.
Strangely, more signs starting popping up further east, just outside of Okotoks town limits.
The whole saga brings up an interesting question — shouldn’t property owners have the right to put what they want on their land and aren’t they protected by freedom of speech?
Well, yes and no.
Although property owners do have rights, they must fit into rules and regulations. In this case, the billboard-trailers are not in compliance to Alberta Transportation rules either.
It just turns out it will be the County that will end up enforcing the rules and looking like the bad guys.
If the County receives a complaint about an unsightly yard, an abandoned shelter or anything else that is not in compliance, it has an obligation to deal with the issue — first through communication and if needed taking municipal legal action.
The billboard-trailers are similar, if they are not in compliance to Alberta Transportation and County regulations.
It’s nothing new. The Wheel had an article about this in 2013, by former editor John Barlow.
Now it is time for council to take action.
And the County will give due process with public consultation.
You can be guaranteed the notice won’t be on a billboard.
