Legal Issues and Billboards
The courts have upheld the rights of government entities to regulate, and even ban, billboards on both safety and aesthetic grounds. For more background on sign law be sure to visit sign law expert and attorney Randal Morrison's website signlaw.com.
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Judicial attitudes towards aesthetics have shifted rather dramatically during the past century from one of outright hostility to general recognition of aesthetics as a sole justification for use of the police power.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued a new guideline to help states determine the definition of a "destroyed sign."
The billboard industry is one of the most litigious in the country, and they do not hesitate to threaten communities with lawsuits to get or keep their signs up. Many sign battles have played out in the courts, here are some of the more important ongoing and settled ones.
Road user fees are a well established concept in the United States, with almost $23 billion being collected by federal, state, and local governmental units for this purpose in 1979.
Reducing billboard clutter in a community is a difficult task, and one that is bitterly opposed by the outdoor advertising industry.
Cutting the public's trees on the right-of-way to provide a better view of billboards gives rise to several questions. What is the relationship between the outdoor advertising business and the roadway?
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