Man runs his own stop-sign program.

• Author: Maley, Frank
• Position: Ron McClure removes illegal signs

Ron McClure doesn't think of himself as a vigilante. And he does not fit the stereotype exactly. His chief weapon is a pry bar, not a six-shooter. And what he takes down are not outlaws but signs advertising new housing developments.

But what else would you call a guy who takes law enforcement into his own hands and dares officials to stop him? McClure won't even join Mecklenburg County's official sign posse--Citizen Volunteers for Sign Enforcement--eight people trained by the zoning department to confiscate illegal real-estate signs. Its rules are too stifling for McClure, a self-employed building inspector who lives in Charlotte's upscale Piper Glen neighborhood.

For one, he says volunteers are prohibited from removing signs on weekends, though Katrina Young, the county's assistant zoning administrator, says they aren't. County zoning rules forbid signs within 11 feet of a road or more than half a mile from the development they tout. There can be no more than two per development. They're allowed up after 8 a.m. Saturday but must be taken down by 6 p.m. Sunday, except for holiday weekends. The county has 10 paid inspectors who go on occasional weekend "sign blitzes" looking for illegal signs. "If each inspector went out, they could easily...