If your garage sale sign went missing over the weekend, we know the culprit. It was a Gilroy employee.
Complaints about an overzealous city code enforcement officer removing garage sale signs over the weekend have Gilroy’s public information officer Joe Kline doing damage control on social media.
It seems some Gilroy residents who participated in the South County-wide garage sale event on Saturday and Sunday were shocked to find signs advertising their location had been removed without a warning. A call to the city found that, yes, some signs had been removed, but no citations, which can run to $100 a pop, or courtesy notices were issued.
The annual community garage sale event includes hundreds of residents in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and unincorporated areas in South County, drawing thousands to the region. Residents who sign up get their address published online ahead of time, and in Gilroy, folks received a pdf of all the participating addresses. There was no map, which, according to one city resident who had her garage sale sign removed from a dirt median down the street from her house on a stretch of private property, made it difficult for customers to find sale locations without the friendly markers. She said she wished the city’s code enforcement officer had been a little less diligent during a city-promoted event.
In Gilroy, garage sale signs are only allowed at the location of the sale. According to the city’s public information office, some signs and associated items, including an easel, ladder and A-frames were removed and collected by a part-time code enforcement officer over the weekend. Residents who had property removed can get it back by calling the city at (408) 846-0264.
