Story originally printed in the Onalaska Life or online at www.onalaskalife.com
Published - Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Free speech wins out: Sign ordinance to stay as written
The city of Onalaska will not issue a moratorium on electronic signs. The issue came up before the city of Onalaska Planning Commission Tuesday night when commission member Knute (Skip) Temte raised an objection to the political message posted on the electronic sign at Del’s Auto during the mayoral campaign. The message was promoting Robert Muth for mayor.
Muth was in the audience as the Plan Commission discussed the issue, but declined an invitation to speak.
The sign ordinance on the books with the city of Onalaska might not hold up in a court of law, according to city Land Use and Development Director Jason Gilman. He told Plan Commission members the existing Onalaska code regulates the type of message a sign — whether on a business, electronic, billboard, or yard sign — may include. However, the Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down as unconstitutional any regulation of content or messages a municipality or government might try to enforce, most strongly protecting political messages.
“I want everyone to be aware we don’t have control over content, but we do have control over installation,” Temte said. “We need to have a moratorium on these signs.” Temte was responsible for putting the item on the agenda.
“So what?” asked commission member Matt Deschler. “So what if you want to put up a political sign?”
“I don’t want to see us overreact,” said commission member Tom Kennedy. “We can’t make a moratorium for one sign.”
Mayor Mike Giese agreed, saying, “There’s a strong preference for unabridged and unfettered free speech. It’s a very important part of the political process and our democracy.”
Governments have a limited ability to control the visual impact of a sign to preserve the character and aesthetics of a neighborhood, Gilman said. But the majority of the Plan Commission was unwilling to venture any further with the ordinance and will not recommend any action to the City Council.
All stories copyright 2006 Onalaska Life and other attributed sources.