In 2021, the San Francisco International Arts Festival (“SFIAF”) and affiliated artist Nkechi Emeruwa were denied permits for two outdoor performance events due to city and state limitations on public gatherings implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, SFIAF and Emeruwa brought suit in federal district court against San Francisco Mayor London Breed claiming the denials were unconstitutional. Specifically, the plaintiffs sued Breed for violations of freedom of expression, equal protection, and due process under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Even after filing three amended complaints, the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims were still insufficient to withstand dismissal.
Continue Reading Court Dismisses with Prejudice Complaint that Permit Denials were Unconstitutional
St. Louis Suburb Wins Some, Loses Some in Challenge to Ordinance Regulating Sidewalk Obstructions and Street Performances
University City, Missouri, home to Washington University and the Loop, a buzzy restaurant and theater district bordering the City of St. Louis, recently survived a challenge to its ordinance prohibiting activities that obstructed sidewalks and walkways. That victory followed litigation against an earlier ordinance that had prohibited a much broader, vaguer set of activities, like “tending to hinder or impede the free and uninterrupted passage of … pedestrians” and remaining stationary in a public sidewalk while engaged in speech or performance. The original ordinance also prohibited musical performances on private property without a permit.
After several street performers challenged the original ordinance, the city amended it to add
Continue Reading St. Louis Suburb Wins Some, Loses Some in Challenge to Ordinance Regulating Sidewalk Obstructions and Street Performances
Court Grants Zoning Administrator’s Motion to Dismiss in Michigan Billboard Case
Two weeks ago, a federal district court granted the motion to dismiss of Joe Daus, the zoning administrator for Howell Township, Michigan, in a case challenging the township’s billboard regulations.
Crossroads Outdoor is a billboard company that sought to install a sign on property owned by the local American Legion post in Howell Township. The township, through Daus, denied the variance on the grounds that it was not permissible to place the sign in the parking lot of the American Legion. After some back and forth on the application, the township eventually passed a moratorium on new signs in 2018 pending the adoption of a new sign ordinance. Crossroads’s sign application has not yet been approved.
Continue Reading Court Grants Zoning Administrator’s Motion to Dismiss in Michigan Billboard Case
Court Grants Preliminary Injunction in California Tattoo Parlor Case
Two weeks ago, a federal district court in California granted preliminary injunctive relief to a tattoo shop owner who challenged the City of Montebello, California’s geographic restrictions on body art establishments.
Montebello’s regulation prohibits tattoo parlors within 1,000 feet of certain sensitive uses, including residential properties, schools, libraries, and religious institutions. The effect of the regulation is to limit such establishments to two small shopping centers in the city. Tattoo parlors are also subject to a conditional use permit requirement, in which the city is required to determine that the use will not have an adverse effect on surrounding properties and that it is consistent with city planning goals.
Continue Reading Court Grants Preliminary Injunction in California Tattoo Parlor Case
Tennessee District Court Dismisses Strip Club’s First Amendment Claim
Déjà Vu of Nashville, Inc. is a business engaged “in the presentation of female performance dance entertainment to the consenting adult public.” More prosaically, Déjà Vu operates a strip club. That business, you will not be surprised to learn, has its detractors. After those detractors found themselves unable to prevent Déjà Vu from operating as a permitted use in downtown Nashville, they took aim at Déjà Vu’s planned valet service, which was to be operated by a third party. They succeeded in persuading the city to deny the permit application for that valet service. In return,
Continue Reading Tennessee District Court Dismisses Strip Club’s First Amendment Claim
Architectural Review Ordinance Withstands First Amendment Scrutiny
Earlier this year, after a telecom millionaire with a checkered past challenged the Town of Palm Beach, Florida’s architectural review ordinance on First Amendment grounds, a federal magistrate judge in Florida issued a report and recommendation finding that the house proposed by
First Amendment Challenge to New Orleans Mural Regulations Moves Forward
In October, a federal district court in Louisiana denied the City of New Orleans’s motion to dismiss a claim filed by an individual challenging the city’s permit requirement for murals.
In late 2017, Neal Morris, an owner of residential and commercial
Upcoming Webinar to Address Due Process in Zoning Hearings
We pause from our usually scheduled programming to announce a webinar from our friends at the Planning and Law Division of the American Planning Association…
The Planning and Law Division of the American Planning Association is pleased to host the upcoming webcast Rules of the Game: A Framework for Fair & Effective Zoning Hearings on
Court Denies Motion to Dismiss in Constitutional Challenge to Pennsylvania Highway Advertising Act
Last month, a federal district court in Pennsylvania found that a billboard company’s challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s highway advertising law sufficiently stated a claim for relief and could proceed to further stages of litigation.
Pennsylvania’s highway advertising law contains a general prohibition on sign structures within 500 feet of a highway interchange
Reason for the Season? D.C. Court Upholds Transit Authority’s Rejection of Religious Holiday Advertising
The Catholic Church’s efforts to “Keep Christ in Christmas” have been stymied by a District of Columbia judge this holiday season. Earlier this month, the federal district court in Washington rejected a request by the Archdiocese of Washington to enjoin the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority’s enforcement of its transit advertising policy. The Archdiocese wished to display, during the holiday season, an advertisement on WMATA transit vehicles that contained the language “Find the Perfect Gift” and a religious image. The advertisement was intended to encourage readers to remember the religious underpinnings of Christmas. WMATA rejected the advertisement because it violated the authority’s rule prohibiting advertising that advocates or opposes religion.
Continue Reading Reason for the Season? D.C. Court Upholds Transit Authority’s Rejection of Religious Holiday Advertising