Ogden ordinance on signs struck down

OGDEN — A property owner who was thwarted from posting messages critical of the city's management can now hang his signs with impunity.

In a ruling released Wednesday, 2nd District Judge Parley Baldwin determined the city ordinance that originally forced Bruce Edwards to remove his signs is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.

The December 2001 ordinance required all vacant buildings to be kept free of all interior or exterior signs, displays or graffiti. It also prohibited obscuring the windows of a vacant building.

In his ruling, Baldwin said, "The sweeping inclusion of the ban understandably would dismay the average American, who . . . would be surprised to learn that he could not display flags, religious symbols, political placards, or even bumper stickers from the windows of his vacant building."

The only acceptable postings under the ordinance were property notices, such as for sale signs.

Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey was unaware of the ruling when contacted Wednesday afternoon. He said he would meet with the city's attorneys to review the judge's decision.

Shortly after the law's passage, the city filed criminal misdemeanor charges and a civil lawsuit against Edwards, who had been posting the signs since 2000 in response to an ongoing dispute with city officials.

In February 2002, Baldwin ordered Edwards to take down signs criticizing Ogden from his vacant buildings on the city's historic 25th Street. The signs were removed just hours before the Olympic torch passed in front of Edwards' property.

Edwards sued the city weeks later, claiming the ordinance was an unconstitutional violation of his First Amendment rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah represented Edwards in court and praised Wednesday's decision as a "victory for the free-speech rights of private property owners everywhere in Utah."

The decision sends government entities a "clear message" that the deprivation of private property owners' free-speech rights "is unconstitutional and cannot be tolerated," the ACLU said.

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com