Many Sundays ago I decided to walk to the corner of Liberty Heights and Auchentoroly Terrace just south of Druid Hill Park to take a photo of a van covered in Conaway family political propaganda that I had seen on my Saturday afternoon jog. The van had been removed, but on the median at the intersection of Auchentoroly and Gwynns Falls was a “We Buy Houses Sign” planted in the ground. I removed the sign and took it back home with me. Here is a photo of the sign:

Signs like this one infest Baltimore. This is not a new story. For years citizens have been trying to ban these signs and in 2006 (after some classic Mary Pat Clarke vote craving gimmicks) an ordinance making the signs illegal was passed. It was not until 2008 that the ordinance actually had some bite and substance to it. As of 2009 the sign owners have yet to be prosecuted because the Environmental Control Board is too busy fining home owner occupants for having weeds growing in their backyards. You can read an excellent City Paper article that explains all of the background behind the “bandit sign ordinance” here.
Since these signs are illegal, but authorities would rather not bother with them I decided to do a little research. I googled the phone number listed on the sign and it took me to this page on the The Clarion Group LLC’s web site. I looked up who owned the The Clarion Group LLC’s site and found this information. It took me a minute to find the name, email, and physical work address of the offender. This is all public information. I think if the city (or anyone) published an online bandit sign poster list that included the name and address of the offender then some of these offenders might think twice about littering our streets with these signs. These people thrive on being anonymous and once their identities are revealed on a large stage then the game changes. It would also be nice if instead of going after responsible home owner occupants for petty environmental offenses that the Environmental Control Board focused on the people who are trying to trick home owner occupants into giving up their homes.