DAVID BORAKS photo

Illegal signs removed by planners, police and other town staff last weekend are planted in front of Town Hall Wednesday.

They crop up every weekend on streets and at major intersections, on town and school and even private property: illegal signs. This week, the town planning staff is highlighting the problem with a “spring garden” in front of town hall.

Section 14.7 of the town planning ordinance prohibits “off-premises” advertising signs such as those for real estate, singles clubs, and sales, Planning Director Kris Krider said Wednesday. It’s OK to plant signs in front of your own home, such as for a yard sale. But off-site advertising is not permitted, he said.

The crop of signs in front of Town Hall Wednesday is only a hint of the problem. Planner Parviz Moosavi and other planners, police officers and town staff routinely stop and remove illegal signs, delivering them to a pile at Town Hall. Mr. Krider said the town removes hundreds every year.

“These are just one weekend’s worth,” Mr. Krider said of the “garden” at Town Hall this week. “This is just to demonstrate the clutter.”