Inspectors from Chapala’s regulations office are fanning out in the community to detect and crack down on violations of municipal ordinances on commercial use of public property.
The enforcement campaign started September 1 after authorities spotted employees of a private company in the process of installing five public telephone booths along the sidewalks of Chapala’s main avenue. Each one bore exterior advertisements for Coca Cola.
Discovering that the gadgets were embedded on a public thoroughfare without municipal permits, regulations personnel were promptly dispatched to remove them.
This week, the department sent out an inspection crew to begin collecting unlicensed signage cluttering local roadways. According to lead inspector Victor Perez, the first objects to be targeted are worn-out signs that no longer serve a purpose.
Eventually the enforcers will hit businesses displaying advertising on public property without the requisite permits, including sandwich boards, signs attached to fixed structures and billboards.