Justin Cook |The Roanoke Times

Sarah Bolen, 6, tests out exercise equipment at a yard sale Thursday in Radford while her grandmother Sharon Bolen checks out merchandise. Sharon Bolen called Radford's new laws governing yard sales "ridiculous."

Yard-sale signs stand at the intersection of Wadsworth and Eighth streets in Radford.

RADFORD -- A recently passed city ordinance tightening restrictions on the summer tradition of yard sales was the talk of the city last weekend.

Beginning July 23, anyone who holds a yard sale in the city limits must have a permit to do so and may not post signs advertising the event anywhere but at the site of the sale. Radford City Council passed the ordinance June 23.

The crafting of the ordinance was initiated by council members who said they had received complaints that some yard sales were evolving into regular businesses.

Yard sale signs have also caused problems for the city staff, Radford spokeswoman Becky Hawke said.

Removal of the signs from public rights of way has become an overwhelming job, Hawke said. After a weekend of sales, one city employee "could spend all day Monday picking up the signs and still not get them all. It creates an eyesore," she said.

But sellers and shoppers across the city Saturday morning took a dim view of the new restrictions. Opposition to the new rules centered mostly on property rights.

"What difference is it to them? It's my yard. It's my stuff. It don't make no sense," said Tony Haupt, who was holding a sale on Fourth Street.

"They pay taxes on their own land. They should be able to do what they want," said shopper Ronald Janes, who had just bought a DVD player from Haupt.

"It's ridiculous," said Sharon Bolen, who by 10 a.m. had already hit at least four such sales between Christiansburg and Radford.

Meanwhile, Bolen's 6-year-old granddaughter, Sarah, was trying out Haupt's old exercise bike.

"She is a shopper," Bolen said of Sarah. "She loves to yard sale."

Sylvia Arnold of Fort Chiswell was one of a handful of yard-sale shoppers congregated at Wadsworth and Eighth streets, copying down addresses from yard-sale signs posted in the median.

Arnold said she had already been to about three sales and had copied down addresses for several more. Radford is a prime spot for good sales, she said.

But without signs posted around the city to direct people, Arnold's weekend bargain hunting could get a lot more difficult, she said.

"I don't like it," Arnold said of the ordinance.

Pam Martin was presiding over her family's once-a-year yard sale at her father's house just off Rock Road.

"I think a person ought to have as many as they want at your own house. We pay our taxes," Martin said.

Yard sales are an important part of the economy, she said.

"A lot of people do this that's retired. It's extra income for them," she said. "People that's got low incomes can find stuff at yard sales they can't afford to buy in the store."

Martin did allow, however, that council members might want to better control the placement of yard-sale signs. She suggested they designate a central spot where signs or fliers could be posted to let shoppers know where to go.

Under the new ordinance, signs advertising the sales are banned, except for one sign that can be posted on the property during the sale. A permit allowing the yard sale must also be displayed at the site.

Sales are limited to no more than three days, and residents may hold only three yard sales per year. Hawke said the city is working on creating a database to track the permits.

Radford City Attorney Jim Guynn's research found that many local governments with such ordinances charge a fee to help offset the cost of administering the permits. But the Radford council decided to issue them for free.

Pulaski has regulated yard sales by ordinance since 1999. The rules there mirror those in Radford, with two exceptions.

In Pulaski no sale may last longer than two days, and signs may be posted in public rights of way but may not be attached to utility poles or public property. The signs must be removed within 24 hours of the conclusion of the sale.

Since 2004, Pulaski has issued 842 yard-sale permits, according to town secretary Brenda Shelton.

Problems with signs were the major catalyst for the Pulaski ordinance.

"It got to be pretty trashy looking with people not taking their signs down," Shelton said.

She said most Pulaski residents apply for a permit, but occasionally someone will be ignorant of the rules.

Pulaski Police Department records manager Elaine Newman said that in her six years with the department, she can't remember a yard sale-related citation being issued.

In Radford, Hawke said the city is working on a public education campaign on the new rules and that enforcement will be gentle at first.

"The idea is to not go around on July 23 and start writing tickets," she said. "It's a change, and people need to get used to the process."

Of the council members, Bruce Brown cast the lone "no" vote on the ordinance.

"I'm just worried that we tried to fix something, and we used a cannon to kill an ant," Brown said last week. "I hope that doesn't come back to haunt us."

Residents needing permits should go to the commissioner of revenue's office in the municipal building on Second Street.

A violation of the new ordinance would be a Class 3 misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Staff writer Kevin Litten contributed to this report.