News

Detroit Plumber Charged for Violating Sign Ordinance

Shaw’s Plumbing faces 59 misdemeanor counts for signs all over.

Published

9 months ago

August 1, 2023

The city of Detroit has filed numerous 59 misdemeanor counts against an area (Melvindale) plumbing company as a top violator of the city’s sign ordinance, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Melvindale business faces 59 misdemeanor charges as Detroit cracks down on sign ordinance https://t.co/np7Or9V3Ox

— Detroit Free Press (@freep) July 31, 2023

William Shaw IV of Shaw’s Plumbing faces up to $29,500 in fines and 90 days in jail. The city has removed more than 615 of Shaw’s signs since Feb. 2022 and notified the company in a December 2022 letter to remove them by Jan. 1 of this year, per the account.

Violations include posting signs on city-owned properties, such as medians, utility poles and street signs, according to Katrina Crawley, assistant director of blight remediation in the general services department. The article further states that the city also claims that instead of using staple guns, Shaw used nail guns to post the signs and placed them at heights too high to reach, making them “extremely difficult” to remove.

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