Sign Moratoriums: An Overreaction to Supreme Court Ruling
What if your sign company couldn’t get a new sign permitted for 30, 60, 90 or 120 days? It would certainly have a dramatic impact on your business and your customers. That’s what is happening in a major U.S. city, a misguided reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Reed v. Town of Gilbert.
Atlanta and many of its suburban communities have enacted moratoriums. In Atlanta proper, the moratorium stretches for 120 days from the July 22 effective date. That could delay news businesses from opening, prevent rebrandings from occurring and potentially slow economic development and jobs.
The moratoriums come despite recommendations from American Planning Association, the American Bar Association and the International Sign Association that communities do not need these moratoriums while they assess whether sign codes are in line with the high court’s ruling. Communities should be able to research options and revise their sign codes without resorting to moratoriums.
In the case of Atlanta, the only action that should be considered as the city examines its sign code to make sure it is constitutionally compliant is to stop enforcing its ordinance. ISA’s James Carpentier has reached out to Atlanta city officials to offer reasonable solutions, and will continue to work until Atlanta’s moratorium is lifted.
ISA relies upon member companies to let us know about sign moratoriums in your community—whether they are in the early discussion stages or have been enacted. Together, we can show just how damaging these types of misguided events can be to a business community. To know more about the Atlanta situation, contact James Carpentier. To ask about moratoriums in general, or to inform ISA about a moratorium in your area, contact David Hickey.
