The city is launching an anti-spam campaign that includes having residents place placards on their front doors letting advertisers know their fliers are not wanted.
Signs that read "Stop. No Advertising Matter. No Soliciting," are being distributed. Leaving an ad is only illegal if a resident has a sign on display indicating that there is no soliciting allowed on the property.
"A lot of these things are unsolicited, they're unwanted and they just create blight and inconvenience to residents," Mayor Pro Tem Jeffrey Prang said.
However, some small businesses depend on this type of advertisement to attract customers and say it could hurt sales.
"It will dramatically reduce the way that you can let people know you're here," said Jake Li, owner of Mao's Kitchen.
Li, who delivers the ads himself, said they are cost effective tool to promote his business.
"Especially for a lot of small businesses," he said. "That's pretty much the only way to give the business exposure to residents."
Without a no soliciting sign, Prang said there's not much the city can legally do to stop an advertiser from leaving a flier on a door, but he hopes that if the public lets businesses know it's not wanted, advertisers will stop doing it.
"There's many other ways," Prang said. "There's lots of free ways to get the word out, through Facebook, through the Internet and other social media vehicles. They need to get creative."
