Metromedia, Inc. v. City of Pasadena

This appeal by the City of Pasadena and other named defendants, hereinafter generally referred to as “appellants,” is taken from a judgment which declares that certain ordinances of appellant city regulating billboards are unconstitutional and enjoins their enforcement.

Ordinance No. 4487, hereinafter referred to as the “bill board ordinance,” provides, in part, that effective May 17, 1959, “No roof sign shall be erected, constructed, relocated or maintained upon any building excepting those which (1) bear the name of the building whereon the sign is located; (2) bear the name of the person, firm or corporation occupying the building or portion thereof and the type of business conducted by said person, firm or corporation. All said signs must be an integral part of the building. No more than one roof sign shall be permitted for each exterior facing of a building.” This ordinance defined “roof sign” as “a sign erected upon or above a roof or parapet of a building. ’ ’ Existing signs were exempted from this ordinance except insofar as their removal might be required by the zoning ordinance applicable to such signs or uses.

Ordinance No. 4495, effective July 19, 1959, hereinafter…