A city of Charlotte bylaw says it's illegal to attach signs, such as advertising, onto city utility poles or public property.
City of Charlotte Ordinance Sec. 10-212. - Signs within public rights-of-way and on public property.
(a) Restricted. It shall be unlawful for any person to attach, place, paint, write, stamp or paste any sign, handbill, advertisement or other matter within 11 feet of the edge of the pavement of any road, roadway, street, or alley, or within any public rights-of-way as defined in section 10-32, or upon any post, pole, tree, tree stake or guard, shrub, fire hydrant, or upon anything else within 11 feet of the edge of the public rights-of-way or upon any bridge or overpass within the city limits or upon other public property including, but not limited to, traffic medians, except as provided in subsection b.
But if you drive down some major Charlotte roads, that illegal signage continues to pop up on a regular basis.
Marc Pepper is a frustrated taxpayer who has lived in Plaza Midwood for about 7 years.
He said he called the city's 311 line repeatedly to report illegal signs posted on utility poles, but he said nothing was being done about the problem.
"Eventually, I just took it upon myself to start taking them down," Pepper said.
Pepper said he removed close to 400 illegal signs over a two-week period in Plaza Midwood alone.
He said the signs represent 200,000 worth of fines.
"And this is only a fraction. This is only the Plaza," Pepper said.
Pepper also said he discovered that several major real estate companies are behind much of the illegal signage.
"I think they're trying to take advantage of the poor (and) disenfranchised," Pepper said.
The city of Charlotte told Channel 9 that its "code enforcement team takes great steps to address illegal signage in the community" and that it conducts routine sweeps for illegal signs.
But the city said it doesn't pursue fines, saying that "non-punitive methods have proven most effective and efficient when compared to the outlay of resources necessary to identify and cite each offender."
That doesn't sit well with Pepper.
"I'd like to have the city launch an investigation into these companies and i would like to have these people who have been taken advantage of already to get some of their money back," Pepper said
City officials insist their sign removal system works and said if you want an illegal sign taken down, you can call 311 and report the specific location.