GCAAR Defeats Ban on Signs in Public Right-of-Way

The Montgomery County Council proposed legislation this summer that would have made it harder for REALTORS® to do business in the County. The Zoning Amendment was set to ban signs in the public right-of-way, including all "Open House," "Home for Sale," and "New Homes" signs.

 
Thanks to your and GCAAR's advocacy efforts, there will be no new sign ban! After considering our opposition to the legislation, the Council decided to take no action and on the legislation. 
 
Here’s what we did to make your voices heard:

• We sat down with the Council to educate them on the importance of signs in the real estate industry.
  
  
• We testified in OPPOSITION to the bill at the public hearing, stressing that signs are critical to the County clients we serve. A wholesale ban on signs would severely limit public communication.

• GCAAR members voiced their concerns in droves and let the Council know our members need to use signs in their advertisements. Real estate brokerages estimate that 35 percent of consumers who attended an open house did so based solely on a directional sign. That number jumps up to 74 percent of consumers who buy a home within six months of attending an open house. 

 

REALTORS® are encouraged to continue abiding by the current regulations—you must still apply for and get a permit for temporary signs in the public right-of-way here.

At the end of the day, don’t forget to take down your signs!

Quick Update on Radon Testing Law

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (MCDEP) is issuing guidance on the new Radon Testing Requirement Law, effective October 1, 2016.

To clarify, MCDEP has confirmed there are NO remediation requirements or requirements to provide a cost estimate for remediation, regardless of the test result. 

Read the critical details about upcoming the radon testing requirements. 

If you have any other questions, please forward them to GCAAR’s Legislative Counsel Katalin Peter at kpeter@gcaar.com, call the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection at 240-777-0311, or ask your settlement attorney.