Last week, in a case that we reported on several years ago, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an Illinois village’s restriction on painted wall signs passes constitutional muster. The case, which originated with a challenge by a local moving and storage company, confirms that restrictions on sign materials are generally content neutral and legally defensible.
The facts of the case can be found on our original post. In ruling on the appeal, the Seventh Circuit confirmed that the village’s restriction on painted wall signs and the size of any wall sign are content neutral forms of regulation. Although the village contended that the restriction in question was a commercial speech regulation and thus Central Hudson applied, the appeals court determined that whether Central Hudson or Reed applied was of no consequence. Because the restrictions were content neutral, and because they were narrowly tailored to the village’s interests in aesthetics and traffic safety, they were sufficient to satisfy First Amendment requirements.