|
|
|
What’s Your Sign?
Milford, Orange say big-billboard ban not about free speech
|
Business New Haven
5/14/2001
By: Linda Mele
|
Exactly what constitutes free speech protected under the First Amendment?
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that burning the American flag is. But would they rule that limiting the size of a billboard infringes on someone's right to free speech?
Well, town officials in Milford and Orange say they will fight all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary in order to prevent an Atlanta-based billboard company from erecting huge billboards along Route 1.
Granite State Outdoor Advertising wants to erect ten billboards in nine locations on Route 1 in Orange and two on Route 1 in Milford.
The suits filed by Granite State claim that denials by the Orange Town Plan & Zone Commission and the Milford Planning & Zoning Board infringe on its right to free speech.
According to Orange First Selectman Mitchell Goldblatt, the signs “would tower some 30 feet over our maximum building height of 40 feet and create a safety hazard by distracting motorists.”
Jack Jansen, chairman of the Milford PZB, says the company's claim is ridiculous because neither municipality seeks to restrict what advertisers can say on the billboards. “We're just restricting how big the words and pictures can be.
“The founding fathers included free speech in the Bill of Rights so people can criticize their government without being thrown in jail,” adds Jansen, “not for what it's become today.”
Michael Paolini, chairman of the Orange TPZC, says companies like Granite State try to circumvent local zoning regulations through such suits.
“They're trying to ignore safety concerns, economic development concerns and to pit merchant against merchant by making a baseless claim that our sign regulations are invalid,” Paolini says.
In addition, Paolini says the signs Granite State wants to construct are 55 feet above the town's maximum sign limit of 25 feet.
The only billboards in Orange are two that sit back-to-back on the border with West Haven along Route 34 and two others on the same route on the Orange/Derby line.
Traveling on I-95, one can see no billboards from the West Haven to Milford lines within the boundaries of Orange, while there are numerous billboards visible from I-95 in Milford.
Milford has new regulations that address the size and positioning of billboards.
Goldblatt doesn't see it as a constitutional issue, but an attempt by Granite to ignore or bludgeon local zoning laws.
Representatives of Granite State decline to comment on the issue while it's still in litigation.
Orange Town Attorney Brian Stone says a hearing regarding a temporary injunction is set for May 21.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
