EASTON, Md. — The Town of Easton is pausing enforcement of its sign regulations for the rest of the year after notices from Code Enforcement caught property owners on both sides of the political aisle off guard.
Election signs have become a common sight around town as Talbot County heads toward the November general election, which includes races for County Council.
But town officials say signs supporting candidates from both parties triggered notices from Code Enforcement this cycle, revealing widespread confusion over what Easton's sign code actually allows.
Mayor Megan JM Cook said in a statement that the situation "highlighted a need for greater clarity and understanding of the Town's current signage restrictions."
Rather than require property owners to take signs down in the middle of the election cycle, the town says it intends to use the pause to educate the community, property owners, candidates and both parties' central committees on the current requirements.
"It's really important to understand that in our sign regulations we don't distinguish between a political temporary sign or any other temporary sign," said Miguel Salinas, Easton's director of Planning and Zoning Enforcement. "What we regulate are the number of signs and the size of those signs, not the content of those signs."
Salinas said the regulations have been in place for years, and that residents can have up to four small temporary signs — no permit required — each capped at six square feet.
Property owners can also have “limited duration signs” which require a permit. The permit allows for a larger sign to be up for a year. Those signs can reach 16 square feet, and properties of five acres or more with at least 400 feet of street frontage can have two of them, or combine them into a single 32-square-foot sign.
The fee is $150 per sign and can be renewed annually.
Talbot County Republican Central Committee Chair Shari Wilcoxon said some property owners with the committee's signs received calls last week telling them they needed a permit or the signs would have to come down.
Now, Wilcoxon says the pause is a wise move.
"I think that was the right thing to do," Wilcoxon said. "When you haven't notified anybody, and then all of a sudden you get notifications, it seems like maybe they didn't handle things appropriately. And I think it was prudent of them to put a pause on this."
Wilcoxon says that the town's enforcement of the signage regulations appears new.
“Apparently the county put out some new regulations that they never notified anybody of. We did not get, not even one notification of any sign issue in June,” Wilcoxon said.
The Talbot County Democratic Central Committee also weighed in, saying homeowners were confused when they received enforcement actions requiring signs to come down.
"As it relates to the Town of Easton, we're disappointed in the way this situation was handled from the beginning," the committee said in a statement. "We had several conversations with town leadership, and we're excited our candidates can get back to work putting their signs up."
The enforcement pause follows a recent controversy involving a local business. Lance Simon, a volunteer and member-elect of the Talbot County Democratic Central Committee, called for a boycott of Gay's Seafood and Deli last week over several large political signs supporting Republican candidates displayed outside the business. Simon said he has since apologized to the business owner.
Town officials say no fines will be issued for existing political signs for the remainder of this election cycle. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, however, signage within Easton town limits will once again be subject to enforcement under the Town Code.
Officials say the additional time will also give the Town Council a chance to review the town's existing signage provisions and consider whether any changes to the town code are necessary.
