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Zoning BulletinTM <br /> <br />SPECIAL REPORT <br /> <br />Cou Enforces Zoning Ordinance Against <br /> ' Billboards After 20 Years <br /> <br />by Yvonne A. Tamayo, Esq. <br /> <br />Larnar A~vertising of Tennessee v. McDonald, 1995 WL 54528 (Tennessee) 1995 <br />A Tennegsee court has allowed a city to begin enforcing a zoning ordinance after <br />20 years o.f i@action. The ordinance in question, which prohibited billboards in a cer- <br />tain area, had been in effect long before an advertising company built its first signs on <br />property in t~at zone. For 20 years, the city did nothing to discourage those signs. <br /> <br /> A Sign of Things to Come <br /> Lamar Advertising of Tennessee owned several billboards displayed on property <br />in the city o~ Knoxville, Tenn. Some signs had been there since as early as 1972. In <br />1950, the property was zoned to prohibit billboards, but the city never enforced the <br />regulations ajgainst Lamar. <br /> <br />In 1950, i the property was zoned to prohibit billboards, <br />but the city never enforced the regulations against Lamar. <br /> <br /> In 1992, Lamar wanted to modernize its signs, so it applied for permits to rebuild <br />them. The ci!y refused to issue the permits, finding the signs illegal. <br /> Lamar stied, asking the court for an order forcing the city to issue the permits. <br />After a trial, ihe court granted this request and Lamar replaced the old signs with new <br />billboards. The city appealed. <br /> <br /> ~ Publisher: E. Michael Quinlan, Esq. Managing Editor: James A. Bittker <br />Group Editor: Michael T. B0rruso, Esq. Associate Editors: Michael Handler, Esq., Robin Dana O'Donoghue, ESq. <br /> Legal l~litor: Carol Johnson Perkins, ESq. Assistant Editors: Stephanie Federico, Elin Dugan <br /> <br />The entire contenl <br />Copyright Clearar <br />reprint requesls. '1' <br />sibility for the stal <br />notice from time t¢ <br />should it be consi¢ <br />sional, If you haw <br /> <br />~f this report i's Copyri'ghted by the publisher and may not be copied without prior permission. Contact <br />pe Center (508) 750-8400 for permission to photocopy for internal use. Contact publisher for other <br />he publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice, and assumes no respon- <br />Iments and opinions of the writers or contributing editors. Case law and statutes change without <br />time and are often specific to one jurisdiction only. The information herein is not intended to be, nor <br />ered, a substitute for legal or professional advice rendered by a competent attorney or other profes- <br />any questions about the application of issues raised herein to your particular situation, seek the <br /> <br />advice of a comp~ent attorney or other professional. <br /> This ~ulletin is available on microfilm from University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI <br /> <br />Published bi Ouinlan <br /> <br />Zoning Bulletin ISSN 0514-7905 <br />23 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210-2387 <br />(617) 542-0048 Copyright © 1995 <br /> 469-ZB-S-53 <br /> <br /> <br />