Sign regulations may change after Supreme Court ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a town sign ordinance in Gilbert, Arizona.

A church had challenged the ordinance, saying it violated First Amendment rights.
Last week’s ruling by the nation’s highest court could change the way cities and towns across the country regulate signs.

The government can regulate things like the time and place of a sign, but not what a sign says, the Supreme Court decided.

“If what you do is just look at the message or the content, that’s not acceptable. So what you’re really interested in is safety, size limitations, setbacks, whether the public is safe whether it does what it’s supposed to do,” said Idaho Falls City Attorney Randy Fife.

Not much is going to change in Idaho Falls because regulations here are not content-based.

Because of the Supreme Court ruling, Idaho Falls and other cities will review their ordinances to make sure they are compliant.