Big Court Win for L.A. in Fight Against Billboard Companies
A panel of federal judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled in favor of Los Angeles' fight against billboards and supergraphics. Their ruling "found that the City Council did not violate the 1st Amendment right to free speech when it allowed exceptions to its citywide ban," said the LA Times. "The court also reversed injunctions that blocked the city from seeking the removal of unpermitted signs at nearly 40 locations."
A city attorney tells Curbed LA that the number of locations may actually be 150. "Every unpermitted location must come down. The billboard industry is now on notice with this ruling," said Michael Bostrom.
Sign companies compared L.A.'s ordinance banning most signs as "cronyism and political favoritism," as the Times put it. For example, signs were permitted, despite a ban, to go up around the Sports and Entertainment District, which encompasses L.A. Live and Staples.