July 30 (Thursday) – County Planning Division – Reed v. Town of Gilbert:  The Supreme Court’s New Rules for Temporary – and other – Signs – Speakers: James Carpentier, Alan Weinstein, and Wendy Moeller.  CM Law credit. 

This webcast will discuss what local governments need to do to ensure that their sign codes comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2015 decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert. That decision established that any sign regulation that “on its face” requires a consideration of a sign’s content to determine how that sign will be regulated is “content-based” and subject to “strict scrutiny.” Many, if not most, sign codes contain such distinctions in the regulation of temporary signs; for example, by treating “real estate” signs differently than “political” signs. After Reed, such distinctions will be upheld only if local government can prove they serve a “compelling governmental interest” and are “narrowly-tailored” to achieve that interest. This session will provide guidance on: (1) when and how to replace content-based sign regulations with effective content-neutral sign regulations and (2) which content-based regulations should be retained and how to defend them if challenged. This session will also examine the recently completed study, Best Practices When Regulating Temporary Signs, by Wendy Moeller AICP.