A second lawsuit has been filed against the city of Neenah over its yard sign ordinance.
The WMC Litigation Center – an affiliate of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the combined state chamber of commerce and manufacturers’ association – last week filed a lawsuit against the city asserting its sign ordinance violates the First Amendment right to free speech.
According to WMC, Neenah’s ordinance prohibits signs that advertise off-premises businesses and commercial advertising on parked vehicles, among other restrictions. It also imposes time-related restrictions for certain signs. For example, while it allows a person to advertise an in-home business with a yard sign, the sign would need to be removed after 30 days. A “Support Our Troops” yard sign would also need to be removed after 30 days, while “No Trespassing” or “Parking in Rear” yard signs may remain up forever. WMC claims, the ordinance would prohibit a plumber from parking his work van in his driveway if his van was visible from a street and advertised his plumbing company.
“The city of Neenah’s sign ordinance is anti-business,” said Scott Rosenow, Executive Director of the WMC Litigation Center. “Neenah is violating the basic First Amendment right to free speech, which includes commercial speech. Signs are a relatively inexpensive form of advertising that small businesses depend on, especially if many of their customers are local.”
Earlier this year, Neenah residents Timothy and Megan Florek sued the city with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty claiming they were threatened with fines if they did not remove yard signs opposing the rezoning of the Shattuck Middle School property for high-density housing.
