Be nice to your neighbors and sweep the sidewalk in front of your home.

While at the sidewalk, look at your house. Can you clearly see and read your house number?

Can the operator of a  police car, fire truck or ambulance see it if they were in a hurry to get to your house?

Most people have no idea how often we drive past a house that may be having an emergency but there is no number on the houses in the area and we have to go till we find one. That delay could cost you or a loved one their life.

Brockton City Ordnance Code 1965, s23-28 Sec. 20-4, Numbering of Buildings; states:

The department of public works (City Engineering Dept.) shall assign numbers to all buildings erected or fronting on any public or private way in the city, and shall have the power to determine the form, size, and material of such numbers.

No person shall neglect or refuse to affix to any building owned by him the street number so designated for such building, nor shall any person affix to or suffer to remain on any building owned by him, for more than three (3) days, a street number other than the one designated for such building by the department.

Violation of this code is punishable by a fine of $50.00 per day for every day not in compliance

The City Engineering Dept. states that they have not set any specific regulation governing the form, size, or material for such numbers.

The Department however did state that the number must be affixed to the front of the building, and that numbers mounted on poles, over garages or otherwise,  are not in compliance.

A number of suggestions to assist you in properly numbering your building or home follows:

NUMBER SIZE

At least three inch (3”) numbers should be used. Larger numbers may be necessary depending on how far your building is from the road.

NUMBERS FORM

Plain block numbers  (163) are recommended for easy and fast identification.
Spelling out the numbers such as (one hundreds and sixty three) is acceptable by code but strongly not recommended.

NUMBER COLOR

Basic black and white are recommended.
Which ever works best in contrast with the color of the surface to which the numbers are mounted. Metal (brass) numbers are not recommended. The reason being is that though they may look nice during the daylight hours, at night when a bright light is shined on them the glare coming off them makes it nearly impossible to read.

NUMBER LOCATION

On many older homes the number is affix to the center stile of the front door.
This is fine, just be sure you don't paint over it of conceal it behind a storm door.

We suggest placing the number on the outside wall right next to the front door on which ever side of the door the door handle is located.

Again, these are only recommendations and as long as the building is numbered it is in compliance with the city code regulating this matter.

Requests for further information or assistance please contact:

Officer Al Gazerro

Brockton Police Dept

Community education Unit

(508) 897-5374

agazerro@brocktonpolice.com

Got an idea for the Monthly Spotlight Page?  Please email them to us at: spotlight@brocktonpolice.com

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