City of Dallas Bans Window Signs for Small Business

www.ij.org Under a Dallas law enacted in 2008, businesses are prohibited from putting signs in the upper two-thirds of any window or glass door, and no more than 15 percent of any window or glass door may be covered by signs. The only way to comply with the new ordinance is by putting tiny signs at peoples feet—which is not an effective way to advertise. The law also bans signs that cover more than 25 percent of a buildings façade. Failure to take down the signs means you are at risk to be hit with a fine up to 00. The law only targets commercial messages. Businesses are free to put anything except a commercial message in their windows. For example, a business could paint a giant Dallas Cowboys helmet on its window—but not advertise that it offers Cowboys merchandise for sale inside. Businesses can paint their windows black or put coolers or other items in front of them. In fact, businesses are not even required to have windows at all. What they cannot do is put messages in their windows that tell customers about the products and services offered inside.

Comments

20 Responses to “City of Dallas Bans Window Signs for Small Business”

  1. throwntomato on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    he sounds like a real idiot!

  2. throwntomato on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    oh, god! what the ^@#*% next?

  3. tweekscratch on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    Texas - sure. Dallas city itself? cholk full of nuts just like any big city. Dallas city council has managed to lose some big businesses to other cities and is doing its best to drive away small businesses. The Dallas Cowboy’s stadium is not even in Dallas. It’s in Arlington! Well done. Oh, I live in the DFW area. Not Dallas proper.

  4. PEinHK on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    @whoo689 Probably some stagnant, mediocre “established” business with friends on the city council who got tired of all these uppity small businesses eating into their profit margins.

  5. Zooksboardshop on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    WOW I thought texas was supposed to be one of the more free states

  6. MrBluegrassfiddler on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    Obviously, TOO MUCH CLUTTER in the minds of the boobs at Dallas city hall. Better call Chuck Norris to kick some #### at city hall.

  7. zer0load on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    This is yet another case of someone in power deciding they don’t like something and requiring everyone else to follow their whims. Apparently someone thought they looked tacky and changed the rules.

    Thing is, if window signs were tacky, customers wouldn’t go into such a tacky establishment.

  8. Reggie1971 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    I live in Dallas and wasn’t aware of this. This used to be a fairly libertarian city, but unfortunately it has gradually been taken over by statist morons.

  9. DTownzz on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    Houston FTW. Seriously. This would never happen in Houston. They don’t regulate you to death. Houston is far from perfect, but on this one, Dallas is inferior.

  10. BoboFromTexas on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    I’m from Dallas and I’m both surprised and embarassed. We usually have more sense than this. I consider myself pretty active and informed and wasn’t aware of this stupidity. I suspect that when more folks become informed of this, it will be repealed.

  11. VengerDFW on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    Just remember, this is the City of Dallas proper, which like many urban communities, is an amalgamation of sloppy seconds after suburban districts and others leave to form their own home rule areas. This leaves Dallas predominantly white liberal and poor black urban minority in nature.

  12. bonzai90210 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    This is the same Dallas that has a city councilman who believes the expression “black hole” is racist.

  13. whoo689 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    “Last fall, Dallas City Council outlawed advertisements in the upper two-thirds of store windows and glass doors in an effort to reduce clutter and make it easier for police to see inside while patrolling and during emergencies.”

    LOL! Ook… Since when is it gov’t’s job to ‘reduce clutter” on store windows? And ‘easier to see inside’ during emergencies?? Why the fuck would a cop need to see inside your business from outside during an emergency? Like you’re too dumb to help yourself out?

  14. whoo689 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    enacted in 2008?? Why did it take so long for IJ to make a video about this?

  15. whoo689 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    I wonder what the justification for THIS nanny-state intrusion was?

    “Customers are easily swindled and forced to buy shit they don’t want or for too high a price by window ads”?

  16. whoo689 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    lol, wut?

    City council dumbasses

  17. emilysatt on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    Dallas should be ashamed of itself.

  18. jo232409 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    The courts will shoot that down.

  19. bs2137 on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    what kind of crock is this, I would expect something like this in San Fransicko

  20. XRayden on February 26th, 2010 9:58 pm

    it make me remember a law in Ste-Foy where street sign were prohibited.

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