Probably that a normal person would not care about the distance or length of a sign from the street unless it was ridiculous.

Did you ever read Jamie Zawinski's blog about setting up DNA Lounge in SOMA? Neighbors absolutely do care about this stuff, and will make enormous pests of themselves.

For that matter, are you a member of any local social network thingies? I've on NextDoor, whatever that is, for the last few weeks, and I'm surprised to discover that every local business I knew about (and several that I've only now become aware of) are defined primarily by the random, petty (to me) seeming complaints they generate from the neighborhood.

I wouldn't be too quick to jump to the conclusion that complaints like these are "enemy action".

I've been on the other end, with a nearby diner's grease vent getting off-calibrated and thus noisy and basically ruining my life, and the owner and city insisting it's perfectly fine. I'm not alone as people have filed lawsuits over this.

Except the 100s of people walking by and having another obstruction they didn't ask for and don't want in their path. Or stupid sign hanging from the roof.

It is not unreasonable NOT to want these things in your neighborhood.

Sorry, but only an unreasonable person would say this. Aren't there enough problems in the world, that we have to care about a sign not being positioned correctly?

In NYC, I can imagine "the world" comprising home, the route from home to work, work, the route from work to home, and home. Don't mess with any of them.

Sandwich boards are terrible. They are very ugly and very annoying to walk around, particularly for the visually impaired.