Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Tuesday, May 16, 2017
(BEDFORD) - A lawsuit filed against the City of Bedford by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana over its sign ordinance is headed to court after the two sides failed to reach a resolution during mediation.
The two sides will present evidence and oral argument in front of Federal Judge Sarah Evans Baker on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis at 10 a.m.
Neither side is willing to comment on the discussions during mediation.
For years, Shaw has placed hand-painted signs expressing his opinions in his yard on I Street.
In September, Shaw received a letter from the city's planning director informing him that he was in violation of the city's new sign ordinance. If Shaw didn't remove his signs, he faced a $300 per day fine. Shaw removed the signs.
However, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of Shaw on October 31 said the city's sign ordinance violated Shaw's First and the Fourteenth Amendment Constitutional rights.
In a statement, the City of Bedford says they disagree that the sign ordinance was unconstitutional, but that the new ordinance has been changed to quote "unquestionably comply" with a 2015 Supreme Court case's precedent and still achieve "virtually the same results."
City council members voted to remove restrictive language that covers sign usage in residential areas. The previous law had categories for signs based on their usage such like yard sale, political and for sale signs.
The changes the council made addressed some, but not all, of the issues raised in the lawsuit.
The changes removed a section concerning signs in windows and removed restrictive and vague language. The primary issues now concern the size and number of temporary signs allowed in residential areas.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.