Making the neighborhood trashy, one sign at a time

Have you seen this? I had to laugh when I saw it. Are they having a sale at bargain prices?

A guy stopped me at the gym early Saturday morning and was telling me about possible code violation regarding Park Grove's "big sign." I thought he was referring to a bunch of picketers who are out there daily outside Tigertail + Mary, picketing non-union labor or something like that, they have a big yellow sign they stand next to; I thought he meant that. He told me he reported it to the county or city on the 311 app and I thought to myself, how can you report picketers to the 311 app? But then later in the day I saw this when I went to the art show at Regatta Park.

This was the scene the artists saw from the park this past weekend, it almost took all the attention away from the art!

This sign is 9 stories high. The lady who ran the art festival over the weekend told me she was asked to remove her 11" x 17" signs but this monster sign is legal?

The banner can be seen from miles away, you can see it from Grove Isle and even the Rickenbacker Causeway; probably from space, too!

Is this what tourists are privy to from our waterfront? I think it brings down the class of the neighborhood, doesn't it?

What if every building now had banners hanging from them? Is this what the Grove has become? Is this mess now permitted on our main entrance to Coconut Grove? It looks like something you would see while driving along I-95.

As of Monday morning, Adele Valencia the City of Miami Director of Code Compliance told me, "An inspector visited this location on Saturday. There was no permit obtained for the sign and a ticket warning letter was issued by the inspector. If the owner does not comply within 10 days, the warning will convert into a ticket with a fine."

She went on to say, "In this case, the property owner did not obtain the permit to place the sign on the building. The sign is also not compliant with the relevant provisions of our City Codes (Miami 21, Articles 7 and 10) governing the size of signs.

"The violation for which the inspector cited the property is 'erection, construction, posting of a sign without a finalized permit.'  In this case, to comply, the sign must be taken down.

"The property owner may then elect to apply for a signage permit with the Planning Department to gain permission to erect a sign that is compliant with the relevant provisions of Miami 21 governing signage."

A view from the park.