The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has enacted a temporary moratorium on the issuance of new sign permits as the result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week.
The court struck down a sign ordinance in Gilbert, Arizona that had been challenged on free speech grounds. The court decided that the ordinance treating political, ideological and directional signs differently was a content-based regulation of speech presumed unconstitutiuonal and that officials there failed to show a compelling interest for the regulation.
A county legal adviser suggested a 30-day moratorium so that Cherokee can evaluate its own sign ordinance in light of the court’s decision and to ensure that no legal openings were created under which a group could put up signs and billboards deemed offensive. Commissioners wound up calling a 45-day halt, to make sure that public hearing and other zoning requirements are adhered to.
The county’s ban does include some exceptions, such as for smaller signs and for public notice signs posted on property slated for possible rezoning.
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