Covington Federal Court decision gives support to aesthetic billboard regulations

Two years ago Cincinnati City Council member Chris Bortz proposed that the City should more closely regulate advertising benches located along Cincinnati's sidewalks. The intent of Bortz's effort was to clean up the city's streets by ridding them of these often unsightly bench billboards.  

Bench billboards are often not well maintained and create an unappealing aesthetic near bus stops where they tend to collect trash. When Council member Bortz discussed the issue in 2007 he suggested that he would like to see the benches replaced with wrought iron style benches that would improve the appearance around bus stops and the city's neighborhood business districts.

After Bortz's proposal took effect the City removed some bench billboards that were not properly permitted or had not paid the $30/year fee to the City for using the public right-of-way.  With more than 1,000 of these benches located across the city, the potential for revenue from the fees to make improvements seemed realistic. 

While First Amendment issues can often test these types of laws, a recent Federal Court decision in Covington recently found a new right-of-way encroachment ordinance in Covington constitutional, stating that cities can regulate items such as advertising benches, vending machines, and newspaper stands to meet certain size and aesthetic standards. When doing so the government must regulate in a way that does not involve the suppression of speech and violate the First Amendment and must also illustrate that the law serves an important objective.

"This is a great step in the right direction that helps the City reduce sign pollution and encroachments in the public right-of-way," said Covington City Manager Larry Klein. "The ordinance allows the City to continue its beautification efforts, and ensures that the public can traverse City sidewalks safely."

The Covington ruling is a boost for policies that move both cities forward and could steer the way to help accomplish the very things in Cincinnati that Bortz outlined in 2007.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by David De Bol
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