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League of Minnesota Cities <br />LMC Insurance Trust <br />145 University Avenue West, St Paul, MN 55103 -2044 <br />4aogaa /M ;..�eeom C;t,' =, (651) 281 -1200 • (800) 925 -1122 <br />G'ties promot+ng arcellanca Fax: (651) 281 -1298 • TDD: (651) 281 -1290 <br />www.lmnc.org <br />LMCIT RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION <br />SIGN ORDINANCES AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT <br />By Paul Merwin, LMCIT Senior Land Use Attorney <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 <br />to 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 <br />than necessary. The main substantial governmental interests recognized by courts are traffic <br />safety 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 applied. Should state clearly that it is <br />not intended to have content -based restrictions and should not be applied that way. Provides a <br />quick clear statement of government purposes and how the ordinance fulfills those purposes <br />rather than needing to review your legislative record if challenged. <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 />•• +,,,a.r:, a, rs aroriaea as general Information and Is not a substitute for legal advice. <br />Consult your attorney for advice concerning specific situations. <br />