More and more signs advertising businesses, from power washing to mosquito defense, have cropped up around town. 

Not everyone is thrilled about the advertisements: Select Board members and a few local residents have complaints about businesses placing these signs without permission on public and private property. 

One Dartmouth resident, who requested not to be named for fear of neighbors not agreeing with their tactics, said she’s been removing the signs when she sees them. 

“I am a Dartmouth resident and have become increasingly annoyed by the number of these signs that crop up along our streets,” she said. “This year has seen an enormous increase in the signage.”

She said she feels slightly uneasy about removing them, however, as it feels like trespassing on town land. 

At a June 12 Select Board meeting, member Stanley Mickelson stood and folded power washing signs in half, saying that he encourages anyone who sees the company’s signs “never to do business with them ever again.”

“I’m sick and tired of people taking advantage of our property advertising their businesses,” he said. “Take them down, I’ve had it.”

Mickelson said he told building commissioner Joe Braga about the signs, who would work on removing them as well. He also said the town would start issuing fines to the companies. 

Chair David Tatelbaum chimed in, advising residents to only take down the signs if they are on public property. 

According to the town bylaws, “no person shall in any manner affix any bill, placard or poster nor paint, draw or write any words, figures or devices upon any property in the town bordering on the highway on land not his own without the permission of the owner.”

Ann Parson, chair of the Dartmouth Tree Committee, said she’s concerned about companies hammering the signs into public trees. She wants to remind residents of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 87 that forbids people from attaching a sign to a public tree. 

“It should be pretty obvious that any puncture to a tree can increase its vulnerability to disease—just as any puncture to human skin can,” Parson said. 

She said the town trees do “a great service” and the sign issue “shows that people don’t appreciate them enough.”

Select Board members similarly called out the issue in a April 2022 Select Board meeting, threatening fines at the time as well.