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0 0 <br />EAGUE OF <br />\4INNESOTA <br />CITIES <br />RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION <br />SIGN ORDINANCES AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT <br />This memorandum discusses some of the basics of designing a sign ordinance that meets the <br />requirements of the First Amendment. <br />General First Amendment Principles <br />The First Amendment protects signs as speech, and courts will look very closely at any attempts to <br />regulate signs. <br />There are a few rules for regulating signs: <br />1. Do not regulate based on content. <br />2. Do not favor commercial speech (advertising) over noncommercial speech. <br />3. Restrictions on signs must accomplish a substantial government interest and be no broader than <br />necessary. The main substantial governmental interests recognized by courts are traffic safety <br />and aesthetics. <br />With this background in mind, there are several steps cities can take when drafting ordinances. <br />Provisions All Sign Ordinances Should Have <br />Every sign ordinance should probably contain the following provisions: <br />Statement of Purpose <br />Tells why the ordinance was drafted and how it should be <br />applied. Should state clearly that it is not intended to have <br />content -based restrictions and should not be applied that <br />way. Provides a quick clear statement of government <br />purposes and how the ordinance fulfills those purposes rather <br />than needing to review your legislative record if challenged. <br />LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES <br />INSURANCE TRUST <br />CONNECTING & INNOVATING <br />SINCE 1913 <br />This material is provided as general information and is not a substitute for legal advice. <br />Consult your attorney for advice concerning specific situations. <br />Sample Ordinance <br />View a sample sign ordinance from <br />the city of Hopkins in the Land Use <br />area of the League website at <br />www.lmc.org. <br />Substitution Clause <br />Provides that for every sign that is allowed, any non - commercial message could be legally <br />substituted. Ensures that non - commercial speech is never discriminated against based on content <br />because it will always allow a noncommercial message on any sign. Many ordinances <br />inadvertently define signs in terms of advertising and may incidentally seem to allow only <br />commercial messages. A substitution clause may correct these mistakes by providing a catch -all <br />allowance of noncommercial messages notwithstanding other provisions. <br />145 UNIVERSITY AVE. WEST PHONE: (651) 281 -1200 FAX: (65 1) 281 -1298 <br />ST. PAUL. MN 55103 -2044 TOLL FREE: (800) 925 -1122 WEB: WWWLMC.ORG <br />