The city council finally amended Cupertino's temporary sign regulation, allowing real estate agents to put up open-house signs on areas adjacent to the streets and along the sidewalks. A maximum of six signs is allowed for an open house.

"Signs allow Realtors to effectively market a property, and they serve as an important directional aide," said Malka Nagel, a Realtor for Coldwell Banker. "With the advent of technology, real estate signs now function in conjunction with many other marketing tools. But they retain their status as one of the most important methods. Many prospective buyers find their future home by driving through the neighborhoods, looking for open-house signs."

A 1997 amendment to the city's sign ordinance had banned all temporary signs, including real estate signs, from public property and areas near the streets and sidewalks. And a maximum of three signs was allowed for an open house.

For the past two years, the Chamber of Commerce and Silicon Valley Association Realtors have lobbied the city council to amend the regulation. The council finally did so at its Nov. 17 meeting.

Real estate agents and their clients are not the only beneficiaries of the temporary sign amendment. People who go to church activities, garage sales or community events will also have better luck finding the locations with an unlimited number of signs guiding them. To avoid visual clutter, all the temporary signs, except political signs, have to be removed before sunset.

But the change of the temporary-sign ordinance also has a flip side.

Those who place signs don't need the approval of adjacent private property owners and residents before putting signs in a public area. "Residential and institutional districts might see an influx of political signs," said community development director Steve Piasecki.

The visual clutter caused by political signs was exactly the reason why the city council prohibited all temporary signs from public spaces in 1997. To examine the impact of the amended ordinance, the city council will review it one year from now, after the political-campaign period.