I recently received a phone call from Recreation Centers of Sun City West officials asking me to remove two of my political yard signs.
They stated that a local resident had filed a formal complaint under ARS 33-1808 that my signs exceeded nine square feet in aggregate total dimensions. It was true, and I immediately removed the two over-sized signs. My three remaining signs total 7.054 square feet in aggregate, so they are currently “size legal.”
I then took a closer look at the statute that I had violated, ARS 33-1808 “Flag Display; Political Signs.” The statute lists specific allowable flags. Political flags are not listed, therefore, they must be considered “political signs” under this law.
There are two important provisions concerning “political signs” — 1) “…the association shall not limit the number of political signs, except that the maximum aggregate total dimensions of all signs on a member’s property shall not exceed 9 sq. ft.,” and 2) “…associations may prohibit the display of political signs earlier than 71 days before the day of an election and later than three days after an election day.”
In my opinion, for Biden and Trump signs, the Election Day is Nov. 3. Thus, If enforced, the legal yard display season would run roughly from Aug. 4 to Nov. 6.
I am going to remove my three legal sized signs until Aug. 4 from my yard to be in compliance with the ARS. But what about the year-round Trump flags that are being flown?
I cannot believe the RCSCW are going to enforce one part of this ARS but not the other part. To be fair, it would require filing a complaint against offending properties. RCSCW only acts upon formal complaints. As for me, I will not file such a complaint as I think it is small, vindictive and smacks of personal harassment.
For the rec. board, if you haven’t, you should adopt the “71-day/three-day” rule. If not, you are supporting only half of the intent of this law, the part that favors Trump flags on a year-round basis.
