A Black Lives Matter sign in front of Brookline Town Hall will soon be taken down, weeks after the town administrator told residents to stop placing posters of kidnapped Israelis on public property.

Officials have ordered the sign, which has stood in front of Town Hall since 2020, as a response to the murder of George Floyd, to be removed under a public signage policy the Select Board approved on Tuesday, hyperlocal Brookline.News first reported.

Under the new policy, which seeks to “provide clarity to the public,” it’s up to the Select Board to decide what signage — flags, signs, posters, etc. – is placed on public property.

“The Select Board may approve fixtures that express views supported by the government of the Town of Brookline and that do not violate other legal obligations of the Town government,” the new policy reads.

Signage expressing political support, religious messaging, and content involving conflicts of interest, discrimination or violence, is not allowed. And those that do get the greenlight will only be allowed to stay up for 30 days.

The Department of Public Works has removed posters featuring photos of kidnapped Israelis and the wording “Kidnapped,” “pursuant to regular policies and procedures, just as they do with any other posting that is not allowed,” according to a November email from Town Administrator Chas Carey.

Those efforts are taking a toll on town resources, Carey told several department heads and Town Meeting members in an email that Brookline.News accessed. He urged residents to consider placing such posters on private property instead.

“We realize that tensions are running high in the community due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. We respect the rights of all individuals to express their opinions on the subject,” Carey wrote. “But the cost to the town in terms of staff time and resources to remove these posters as part of regular care and maintenance is untenable. The effort required is creating a backlog of other issues that are going unaddressed.”

After listening to residents earlier in Tuesday’s meeting, Select Board Vice Chairman John VanScoyoc said he fears the public “misunderstands” the board’s intentions.

“There has never been any intent to create a policy that would allow for us to, at our discretion, leave hateful messages anywhere in town from anybody,” VanScoyoc said.

“It’s actually the opposite,” he continued. “We came to this decision tonight as a consequence of messages left on town properties in the absence of a policy and then what do you do? If you take them down, you’re accused of being anti- that message. If you leave them up, you’re accused of ‘You allowed a message that other people find offensive.’”

Resident Sana Hafeez said she believes the new policy doesn’t benefit or support the community.

“This is not going to be used as a political pawn to say that you have the support of the Muslim community,” she told the board. “What would help get support is measurable change in action. That’s not what I’ve seen tonight.”

Carey, in his email, highlighted how people placing the posters had been “coating them with a Vaseline-like substance” to make them hard to remove. Concord and other nearby municipalities also have been dealing with similar issues amid the Hamas-Israel war.

Conversations about signage had been going on before October and Hamas’ attack on Israel, said Select Board Chairman Bernard Greene who inquired whether there’d be a way for the new policy to include wording for “controversial views.”

“You want to have clear guidance to the community about what you do and don’t allow,” Carey responded. “One person’s controversy is another person’s cause or celebre. You really want to be careful about saying ‘I’m sorry, that message is too controversial for us.’ You may end up in more hot water than you intended by trying to limit the discussion.”