The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Town’s rights-of-way getting crowded
Real estate offices and agents will now have to pay the town a $50 per-agent deposit if they plan to post ‘Open House’ signs in Mt. Crested Butte’s public rights of way.
The Town Council adopted the rule on Tuesday, April 17 to address the town’s liability when a misplaced roadside sign damages equipment, like a snow blower that can potentially cost thousands of dollars to fix.
The council wanted to have a cash deposit in hand before allowing the signs to be posted, but didn’t want to put too large a burden on the real estate community.
“We kind of alleviated the cost burden [on the real estate community], but also satisfied the liability concerns from the town if equipment is damaged because a sign is misplaced,” community development administrative assistant Theresa Henry said.
After the council members first discussed their concerns related to the number of untraceable open house signs popping up in the town’s rights of way at a work session in January, staff was instructed to write an ordinance that covered the town’s liability. According to the ordinance, if the damage caused by a sign were to be more than the $50 deposit, “the person or agency whose sign caused the damage will be required to pay the difference.”
The new ordinance requires real estate agents or offices pay the deposit and notify the town of when, where and how many signs will be placed, and limits posting to between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. the day of the open house. Agents will then be responsible for removing the signs themselves. To keep tabs on the signs that go up, real estate agents will also have put their name and contact information on the signs.
Homeowners selling their property independently won’t have to pay the fee, but will still need to register open houses with the town.
“Hopefully this will help streamline the whole process and make it more efficient for managing the number of open house signs that are out there and make it a little less burdensome for the Realtor to have open house signs placed in the town’s right of ways,” Henry said.
