What you need to know before erecting an advertising board

Following complaints about numerous real estate advertising boards slowly filling the town, the municipality laid out the rules of what it takes to erect a board.

Acting communication manager Jeanette Tshite says, in terms of Section 13 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act 32 of 2000), J.B. Marks adopted the Outdoor Advertisement By-laws, which state that no person shall erect any advertisement or sign which is visible from any street or public place or on any Council property without first having obtained the written approval of the municipal manager for commercial advertisements and signs and from the executive mayor for non- commercial advertisements and signage.

“A person who wishes to display a billboard advertisement shall submit to Council a written application on the prescribed form and pay the prescribed fee. Such applications shall be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment for billboards exceeding 36 m² or smaller billboards at the council’s discretion,” Tshite explained.

According to her, every application for permission to display posters, banners and flags shall be made on the prescribed form, and be accompanied by a prescribed fee and deposit as contained in the Council’s tariff of charges; such deposit shall be refunded when all the advertisement items have been removed to the satisfaction of the municipality. The applicant will be required to submit a copy of all posters to which the application relates and written details of the streets in which posters are to be displayed.

“Therefore, every agent or person intending to advertise should submit to the J.B. Marks Local Council a written application annually on the prescribed form and pay the prescribed fee for permission for the number of portable boards specified in such application,” she said.

She further explained that portable boards should not exceed 600 mm, and collectively the number of boards displayed should not, in the opinion of the Council, detract from amenities of the streetscape or environment.

“They are not to be positioned nearer than 1,8 m from the edge of the roadway and placed at such height that the lower edge of the board does not exceed 600 mm above the ground, subject to the provisions of the Road Traffic Act and Traffic By-laws,” she said.

“Such portable boards are not to be positioned nearer than 10 m from any road intersection, entrance or exit from a dual carriageway or a freeway as defined in the Road Traffic Ordinance and Traffic Act. They are not to be positioned to hinder or obstruct pedestrians’ right of way on a sidewalk or unfairly prejudice other traders,” she added.