ENCINITAS — An Encinitas homeowner who installed large “Love Your Neighbors” lettering on his wooden backyard fence facing Village Park Way has been ordered by the city to remove the display or face increasing fines.
JT Moring, 68, said the white wooden letters — roughly 20 feet wide and 4 feet high — went up earlier this fall after a series of immigration arrests down the street from Park Dale Lane Elementary School, just a half-block from his home.
Moring, a retired electrical engineer and full-time musician, said chalk messages and later spray-painted graffiti on his fence reading conflicting messages of “NO ICE” and “WE SUPPORT ICE” shortly after the arrests pushed him to replace the vandalism with a positive message.
“It felt like the fence had become a message board,” Moring said. “So I painted old fencing, cut it into letters and put up ‘Love Your Neighbors.’ People added heart stickers, and it really turned into something beautiful.”
The display was up for several weeks until a code enforcement officer contacted him on Wednesday, stating the city had received a complaint and the sign must be taken down.
According to a notice of violation issued Nov. 20, the installation violates residential sign regulations by exceeding the allowable size for temporary signs and by being placed less than two feet from the property line.
The notice directs Moring to remove the sign by Nov. 25 or face daily administrative fines starting at $100 and escalating to $1,000 per citation.
According to emails provided to The Coast News, Bryant Jemison, the city’s code enforcement manager, told Moring the letters qualify as a temporary sign under Encinitas Municipal Code 30.60.080 and do not meet the requirements for a permanent sign becauseit lacks a building or design review permit, exceeds 5 square feet, and is not attached to a building, pole or freestanding wall.
“The City has confirmed non-compliant signage has been installed,” Jemison wrote in the citation. “To comply, please remove the non-compliant signage… Failure to comply may result in escalated enforcement actions.”
Jemison said that code enforcement is initiated by citizen complaints, which are confidential.
When Moring asked for an extension due to personal reasons, Jemison denied the request.
“You may need to engage the services of someone who can assist with removing the sign,” he wrote.
The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moring noted the homeowners’ association has not contacted him regarding the sign.
The enforcement action has drawn attention on the Encinitas Votes Facebook group, where Moring’s wife, Mary Jo Preti, posted about the situation.
“The response was overwhelmingly positive,” Moring said. “Out of dozens of comments, I only saw one person say it should come down.”
Lorri Greene, a longtime Encinitas resident and moderator of the Facebook page, said Preti’s series of posts about the yard sign has garnered thousands of views and hundreds of comments, nearly all of them positive.
“When you think about all the chaos and division in this world, this is such a loving, hopeful and peaceful message,” Greene said. “I just see this as trying to bring people together. It’s so cool. So when it comes to code enforcement, sometimes allowances should be made.”
Preti said community support has reinforced their belief that the display reflects Encinitas’ values.
“People tell us it makes them smile,” she said. “It represents kindness. I think that’s why this hit a nerve.”
Mayor Bruce Ehlers told The Coast News he wants the city to fairly enforce its sign ordinances but acknowledged that displays like Moring’s raise constitutional questions.
“I certainly want to enforce our codes, but this one could be protected by free speech,” Ehlers said. “It appears to be decorative, not a commercial or advertising sign. In this case, we should all learn to love our neighbors and their signs.”
Moring said the city’s definition of a “sign” is so broad that it could apply to murals, common flags, and even holiday decorations.
“The code defines signs so vaguely that a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ across your yard or a Pride flag could be illegal,” he said. “I keep asking whether artwork gets a free pass.”
Moring said he is still seeking clarity from the city on the nature of the complaint and whether alternative artwork would be allowed, but code enforcement has not changed its position.
Moring and Preti have submitted a letter to the council and are also encouraging neighbors who feel compelled to share their views about the sign with elected officials.
“It seems like going through code enforcement won’t give us a satisfactory result,” Moring said. “We’re looking at all options — an exemption, a redesigned art piece, whatever will let us keep something positive on that fence.”
2 comments
Your mayor himself notes that this is free speech, and I am sure your other council members agree. They need to step up and tell Code Enforcement to back off NOW. Surely the city has better ways to spend its money, time, and resources. I fully support the residents and their sign, and I hope more people speak up on this by contacting city council. Let’s put a stop to this “HOA-style” harassment.
Really? Doesn’t the city have better things to do than take away freedom of expression. How about better weed control and more concern for the growing number of jarring pot holes on our streets.