G.K. Ltd. Travel v. City of Lake Oswego

I. Background

A. Plaintiffs’ Pole Sign

Plaintiff Ramsay Signs, Inc. (“Ramsay”) owns a 42.5- square-foot pole sign that has been used since 1980 in Lake Oswego. Ramsay leased its pole sign to Journeys! of Lake Oswego (“Journeys!”) in 1996 for the purpose of advertising the Journeys! travel business. In February 2001, plaintiff G.K. Ltd. Travel (“G.K.”) purchased Journeys! along with the pole sign lease and instructed Ramsay to change the copy of the pole sign to advertise G.K.’s travel business. Ramsay accord- ingly changed the text on the sign from “Journeys! of Lake Oswego, Formerly Apollo Travel” to “G.K. Ltd. Travel Groups Tours Cruises Complete Travel Services Domestic & International.” The City’s Code Enforcement Specialist, Sandy Ingalls, notified the plaintiffs that because they were changing the copy on their pole sign as a new business, the sign had to conform with the Sign Code. Conformity, in this case, meant removing the sign altogether because the Sign Code prohibits pole signs in Lake Oswego unless statutorily defined special circumstances exist, none of which were applicable to plaintiffs. See LOC § 47.04.100(1).2 2 Section 47.04.100(1) provides, A…