In August, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s rejection of claims by the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area that the City of Oakland’s program requiring developers to contribute 1% of the cost of a development project to public art violated the First Amendment. In an unpublished opinion, the circuit court concluded that, although such a program implicated free speech concerns, it did not compel any particular speech. The court noted that the program offered developers wide latitude to determine how they might incorporate artwork into their projects. The court agreed that the program was related to the city’s interests in encouraging aesthetic interest in the community.
Building Indus. Assn. – Bay Area v. City of Oakland, 775 Fed. Appx. 348 (9th Cir. 2019).