It’s safe to say at least one thing about Bend’s sign ordinance: The fines seem to work.

The Southern Wine Group, an importer of Latin American wines headquartered in Bend, is located in one of those nooks and crannies of the Old Mill Marketplace. It has a sandwich board sign in front, making it a bit easier to find.

Or, that is to say, it used to have a sign in front.

Kirk Ermisch, the company’s president, said Kim Voos, an assistant planner for the city, called his property manager and asked that the sign be removed. Otherwise, there would be a city citation of more than $700.

Ermisch said the sign was removed. Other businesses in the Old Mill Marketplace also removed signs. Apparently, Voos said there was a complaint about one of the signs and the others in the area were also found to be in violation of the city’s sign ordinance.

Bend has a sign ordinance for the right reasons — to keep signs from interfering with visibility and access and preserve a certain level of visual character for the city. The intent is not to regulate content.

Ermisch says his sign was not large or obnoxious and was not interfering with access or visibility. He asked the City Council on Wednesday, essentially, why should he have to move it?

City councilors and staff, to their credit, had an appropriate response. Carolyn Eagan, the city’s new business advocate, is going to meet with him and try to sort the issue out.

That’s a beginning.

Councilor Scott Ramsay pointed out some apparent loopholes in the sign ordinance that are being exploited. He said some businesses are evading the intent of the law by mounting signs on wheels or parking vehicles with big signs near businesses.

It may be that no matter how well-crafted a sign ordinance is, there is going to be some fuzziness that frustrates or forms loopholes. We urge the city to follow through with a solution that at least eliminates some of the unnecessary hassle.