Get Outdoors II, LLC v. City of San Diego

I. Background

Get Outdoors II is an outdoor advertising company attempt- ing to build and operate signs in the City of San Diego (“the City”). On June 2, 2003, Get Outdoors II filed twenty-four applications for billboard permits with the City, through its Development Services Department. Get Outdoors II alleges that it had already signed leases with various real property owners to post signs on their parcels.

When the company’s representative dropped off the appli- cations, a city official informed him that the City’s sign ordi- 1 We decide the other two cases in separately published memorandum dispositions. See Get Outdoors II, LLC v. City of Lemon Grove, ____ ; Get Outdoors v. City of Chula Vista, ____. GET OUTDOORS II v. SAN DIEGO 14477 nance prohibited new billboards but agreed to review the applications. The City then performed a complete review of the applications and notified Get Outdoors II the next day that it could not grant permits for any of the signs under San Diego Municipal Code (“SDMC”) § 142.1210, which prohib- its new signs bearing “off-premises” messages.2 The City sent a formal letter, dated June 9, to the same effect.3 In a later…