Krochalis

This appeal requires us to decide whether Seattle’s regulation limiting the construction and relocation of billboards passes constitutional muster as a matter of law under Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego, 453 U.S. 490 , 101 S.Ct. 2882 , 69 L.Ed.2d 800 (1981), without detañed proof that the billboard regulation will in fact advance the city’s interests in traffic safety and esthetics.

Ackerley Communications of the Northwest, Inc., which is in the business of disseminating commercial and public service messages on outdoor advertising signs erected on property leased from private owners, appeals summary judgment in favor of the City of Seattle, its Department of Construction, and R.F. Krochalis, the Department’s Director, on its claim that Seattle Municipal Ordinance 116780, prohibiting the construction and relocation of billboards except in certain circumstances, impermissibly restricts commercial speech under the First Amendment. The district court held that Metromedia controls, and we agree. Ackerley contends that the Court’s more recent decisions require a searching judicial review of all restrictions on commercial speech, and that Seattle had to (but did not)…