DETROIT (WXYZ) — William Shaw IV, a local plumber, is now facing charges for violating city sign ordinances.
According to the city of Detroit, Shaw was charged with 59 misdemeanor counts of violating the city sign ordinance and faces either a hefty $30,000 fine or 90 days in jail. This comes after many signs allegedly put up by Shaw promoting his business Shaw’s Plumbing of Melvindale were taken down throughout the city.
The city said it has taken down over 615 signs hung up by Shaw since February 2022. Repeated warnings for nuisance signage were reportedly sent to Shaw to no response. The city said Shaw used a nail gun with threaded wide plastic collars to make removal difficult. Violations of the city sign ordinance are considered by officials to be a public nuisance due to visual clutter.
7 Action News reached out to Shaw over the phone. He says he never received any correspondence from the City to stop placing the signs. Plus, according to Shaw, the signs were put up by another company he hired, and, due to the current legal ramifications, he will hold a press conference with his lawyer in the coming days to share his side of the story.
“The City of Detroit is being forced to use precious manpower and resources to remove these illegal signs from our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Mike Duggan in a statement. “Enough is enough. We want our residents to be proud of their communities and not have them littered with businesses who have decided these signs are the cheapest way to advertise their services.”
The city’s Blight to Beauty program has removed over 400 signs in the past three months, down from 1,700 at this same time last year. Since starting the removal process of removing illegally placed signs in 2022, there has been a noticeable decline in sign usage.
“One of my first assignments was to address a letter sent to city leadership regarding neighborhood issues, one of which was these illegal signs plaguing our neighborhoods,” said Katrina Crawley, Assistant Director of Blight Remediation in a statement. “My team got to work right away and developed a process that included educating business owners regarding compliance with city sign ordinances with the goal of eventually getting rid of them and creating more beautiful neighborhoods for Detroiters to enjoy.
The city has identified the top twenty violators, of which criminal charges are being pressed against the five worst offenders. While the remaining fifteen will be pursued civilly to recoup the city's cost for the resources used to remove the signs.
The city says an arraignment is expected within two weeks for those criminally charged with abusing the sign ordinance.
For more information on city sign ordinances, click here.
