Have you heard about the ordinance that has the sign police asking business owners to remove signage from store fronts? Dallas sign ordinance 51A-7.205 & 51A-7.305, amended June 25, 2008, limits the number and duration of attached special purpose signs, prohibits detached special purpose signs, and limits the area of signs on facades and windows. In the lawsuit filed November 11, 2009, Washington- based Institute for Justice vrs. City Hall, the City Hall attorney Tom Perkins said the ordinance is clearly constitutional because they are not limiting what is said or signs on private property. The companies that filed the lawsuit disagree. They believe that free speech is not just about what is said but should include how it is said- or posted.

When Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway presented the idea to limit the percentage obscured by signs, he had the public’s safety in mind. Police officers could not see into businesses with too much sign coverage. The businesses with advertisements on their windows are willing to take a chance if it means customers will not be able to be reached because of the new ordinance. The new law prohibits placing signs on the upper two-thirds of windows & limits total coverage to no more than 15% of a window and 25% of a wall. In Ft. Worth the percentage is even lower. The sign ordinance section six passed in 2007 limits Ft. Worth coverage to 10%. The sign police think the limits will make the city more aesthetically appropriate; the business owners think they should have the right to advertise in any way they choose.  Some of the companies in question have had their graphics up since before the ordinance was passed and are hopeful the courts will make a grandfather clause exception for them.

I think a compromise should be able to be reached on a business by business basis. If there are no complaints from people in the area then businesses should be able to keep their advertisements. If there are complaints then all parties involved should be able come up with a solution that will consider both sides fairly. This is not a cookie cutter problem. Watch for my next blog about the requirements for manufacturing and installing electrical signs.

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