On
November 28, 2001, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Edward M. Thomas upheld
Livonia's ban on billboards. The Livonia ordinance defined
"Billboard" as: "A ground sign advertising a product,
event, person, business, or subject not related to the premises on which the
sign is located. Off-premise directional signs as permitted in this
ordinance shall not be considered as billboards."
A
New York company challenged this billboard ordinance on five well known
grounds: 1) Exclusionary zoning, 2) First Amendment Freedom of Speech, 3)
Commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, 4) Substantive due process rights
under the U.S. and Michigan Constitutions, and 5) Equal protection.
The
Wayne County Circuit Court averted a trial by granting "summary
disposition" in favor of the City of Livonia. Summary disposition is
a procedural way to dismiss a case when there are no factual issues.
Judge
Thomas' 16-page Opinion found no basis to any of the five claimed
theories. The Court found there was no First Amendment violation by
recognizing there was a distinction between "commercial and non-commercial
speech; the former may be regulated in situations where the latter may not
be." The court applied standards derived from the U.S. Supreme Court
in finding there was no infringement of First Amendment freedoms. Judge
Thomas upheld Livonia's interest by finding there was a reasonable fit between
the intended goal (aesthetics and safety) and the means to reach the goal (a
billboard ban). Judge Thomas also found the billboard ban was
"content neutral." In other words, efforts to legislate the
type of speech may violate First Amendment freedoms. Courts frown on
legislative attempts to draw lines between favored and disfavored businesses or
conduct. The outright ban on billboards was aptly found to be content
neutral by Judge Thomas.
Since
the Court found a reasonable relationship between the goals (aesthetics and
safety) and the means (banning billboards), there was no substantive due
process violation.
The
Court rejected the Exclusionary Zoning argument because there was no "demonstrated
need" for billboards.
The
interstate and equal protection arguments were dismissed in that the Court
found no discriminatory practices.
The
Wayne County Circuit Court Opinion has been appealed to the Michigan Court of
Appeals. Scenic Michigan will be filing an Amicus Curiae brief.