City in new bid to crack down on illegal billboards

Mayor Alfred Mentore has instructed the City Engineer to begin identifying billboards that were illegally erected across Georgetown, as the municipality moves closer to enforcing regulations governing outdoor advertising within the capital.

Speaking with Stabroek News on Saturday, Mentore explained that the exercise will focus on locating billboards that were placed on council reserves and other municipal spaces without the necessary authorization from the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown.

According to the mayor, the council has received information suggesting that a single advertising company may be responsible for erecting several of the billboards now under scrutiny. These structures, he said, are being used to display advertisements for various businesses operating in and around the city.

Mentore noted that while the council welcomes advertising ventures that make use of public spaces, such activities must be done within the framework established by the municipality. That framework requires operators to seek permission, obtain the relevant permits, and make the required payments for the use of council-owned reserves or other municipal lands.

He emphasized that properly regulated billboard advertising can generate revenue for the city through contractual agreements with operators. These agreements, he explained, allow both the private advertising companies and the council to benefit from the use of municipal property.

However, he warned that where companies fail to comply with the regulations or erect billboards without authorization, the council will not hesitate to act.

“If there is non-compliance from the owners of the billboards, the council will begin its removal exercise,” Mentore said, while noting that the municipality must ensure that public spaces are used responsibly and that the city receives value for money when its lands are utilized for commercial purposes.

The matter of unauthorized billboards is not new to the council. In 2025, the issue was raised during a statutory meeting of the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown, where councillors discussed the growing number of billboard structures being erected across the city without the council’s approval.

At that time, it was indicated that notices would be sent to the owners of those structures informing them that the billboards were illegally erected and advising them of the options available to regularize their operations in accordance with municipal rules.

More recently, the council issued a public notice to billboard operators reminding them of their obligations.

In a statement posted on the council’s official Facebook page on March 5, 2026, the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown called on all owners and operators of billboards and outdoor advertisements within the city to immediately contact the City Engineer’s Department.

The notice explained that the purpose of the exercise is to verify that the billboards have the required approval, meet structural safety standards, and have received proper municipal authorization.

Operators were also asked to present all relevant permits to the City Engineer’s Department as part of the verification process.

The council warned that failure to comply with the directive could result in several enforcement actions. These include the removal of the billboards by the council without further notice, the imposition of administrative fees for the recovery of the structures, and possible fines or legal action under the applicable municipal by-laws.

According to the council, the directive is part of a broader effort to ensure public safety, maintain structural integrity, and bring outdoor advertising across the city into compliance with municipal regulations.

City officials have also indicated that improperly installed billboards can pose safety risks, particularly if they are erected without engineering approval or placed in areas that may obstruct traffic visibility or pedestrian movement.

The location identification exercise now being initiated by the City Engineer’s Department is expected to determine the extent of the unauthorized structures across Georgetown and guide the council’s next steps in addressing the issue.