Wayne Charles v. City of Los Angeles

We are called upon to write another chapter in “the story of billboards.” See World, Wide Rush, LLC v. City of Los Angeles, 606 F.3d 676, 680 (9th Cir.2010). After decades of litigation concerning the scope of permissible restrictions on billboards, “[t]he question of the day is no longer whether cities may regulate billboards at all, but is instead the extent to which they may do so consistent with the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of expression.” Id. at 681 . In the wake of Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego, 453 U.S. 490 , 101 S.Ct. 2882 , 69 L.Ed.2d 800 (1981) and Metro Lights, L.L.C. v. City of Los Angeles, 551 F.3d 898 (9th Cir.2009), it is clear that the City of Los Angeles (“City”) may more strictly regulate offsite commercial signs than noncommercial signs. And, indeed, the City’s sign ordinance requires a building permit for all temporary signs other than those containing “a political, ideological or other noncommercial message.” Los Angeles Municipal Code (“LAMC”) § 14.4.16(A).

Wayne Charles and Fort Self Storage (“Appellants”) sought to install a temporary offsite sign advertising the television program “E! News” without obtaining the required City…