BAY MINETTE – U.S. Representative Jo Bonner has not officially resigned from the House of Representatives, but nine candidates are already in line to replace him. Political signs have already begun popping up in Baldwin County.

Many of those signs are illegal according to the letter of local sign ordinances. It’s not because they are in the right-of-way – though many are. They are illegal because they were put up to soon.

Bay Minette, Spanish Fort, Fairhope, Robertsdale and Orange Beach all have start dates for placing political signs. Some are based on a set number of days before the election. Others are based on candidates qualifying. Since neither the election nor qualifying dates have been set, any signs already erected in those towns are technically in violation of the ordinance.

On Tuesday, Bonner pushed up his planned resignation two weeks, moving the date from Aug. 15 to Aug. 2. The move should allow the First Congressional District to hold a special election and have a new representative in Washington D.C. before the end of the year. Gov. Robert Bentley must still formally set the dates for qualification, the election and the likely runoff election.

While pundits are still speculating when the election will be, without a formal date, there is no way to know it the signs already up were placed within 90 days (Spanish Fort) or 60 days (Bay Minette) of the election. Robertsdale and Orange Beach allow signs once the candidate has qualified. Fairhope’s ordinance spells out that political signs can only be erected after the qualifying deadline.

Signs must be placed on private property. It is illegal to have them in rights-of-way or attached to signs or utility poles in the rights-of-way.

Most sign ordinances limit the size of each sign. The rule of thumb is 4 square feet in residential areas. Summerdale and Loxley double that limit. Foley will allow signs up to 12 square feet in someone’s yard. Gulf Shores limits signs to 4 square feet and say residential lots can have no more than a total of 15 square feet in political signs. That effectively limits people to no more than three signs in their yard.

In commercial-zoned areas in Spanish Fort and Fairhope, signs can be as large as 16 square feet. Bay Minette and Foley allow 32 square feet, or a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

Once political signs are installed correctly and legally, there is also a time limit of how long they can be displayed. Most cities have a timeframe of when the signs should come down. Spanish Fort and Orange Beach want them down three days after the election. If there is a runoff, those two candidates get extra time.

Daphne, Fairhope and Robertsdale want the signs removed within 5 days. Bay Minette and Loxley allow candidates and their supporters a full week to take care of the task. Foley and Summerdale are the most lenient, giving up to 10 days after the final election to have all signs removed.

 All of the municipalities in Baldwin County have a sign ordinance. Most of them deal with political signs, but some go into much more detail about what is allowed and what is prohibited. Anyone with a question should contact their city hall for specifics.