Agenda - Council - 11/13/2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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applies when government tries to regulate based on the content of speech. The only content -based sign regulation that courts have upheld is treating off -premise signs (billboards) differently than on -premise signs that advertise the business on the same property. One distinction that may seem like it is content based, but our federal court of appeals has said is not, is a ban on dynamic signs with an exception for time and temperature displays. The court held ‘ that because of their unique nature, allowing only time and temp displays is not a prohibited content -based regulation. It is important not to overstate this, however. Regulations that go further and carve out a broader exception for "public information" are likely to be struck down as impermissibly content -based. 1 More Information Learn more about sign regulations and free speech in: • Sign Ordinances and the First Amendment It's available at www.lmc.org. Sign regulations that are not content based are subject to intermediate scrutiny, which tests whether the regulation is substantially related to a significant government interest. This roughly translates to "regulate for a good reason." Cities should take care that the scope of the regulation is not excessive when viewed in light of all of the regulatory objectives, and that they do not create exceptions to the regulations that cannot be justified by reference to one or more of the city's articulated objectives Big -picture regulatory tools The available research on traffic impacts supports significant content -neutral limits or even bans on dynamic signs for safety reasons. The studies confirm that billboards can tend to distract drivers, dynamic features contribute to the distraction, and even short distractions can increase the risk of accidents. This is not surprising as promotional materials put out by sign companies themselves boast the signs' ability to hold viewer attention as a benefit of dynamic signs. Safety is only one concern. Cities may also regulate signs based on values, preferences, and aesthetics. Not every sign is appropriate in every community or every neighborhood. Not every community wishes to become Las Vegas or even downtown Minneapolis. Cities can take a number of different macro -level approaches to regulation. Some examples include: 1. Complete or near -complete bans that do not allow dynamic signs at all. 2. Allow dynamic signs with restrictions such as minimum display time, allowing only a percentage of a sign to change, or text size limitations. 3. Allow different things in different zoning districts, such as allowing brighter dynamic signs in a downtown business district than in residential neighborhoods. 4. Offering incentive programs to billboard companies to allow dynamic signs in exchange for removal of non -conforming static signs. 5. Encourage dynamic displays. Some communities like the clean, new look of dynamic signs and encourage them to remove old blighted and poorly maintained signs. 2