It has come to the Village Administration’s attention that our sign regulations are out-of-date. In a recent case (Reed v. Town of Gilbert), the United States Supreme Court determined that sign regulations that discriminate based on the content of the sign’s message are, in most cases, unconstitutional.
Unfortunately, the Village’s sign regulations, are very similar to the regulations struck down in the Reed case. Consequently, if challenged, the Village’s sign regulations would also likely be struck down by a reviewing court. For the foregoing reasons the Village needs to undertake a comprehensive rewrite of its sign regulations.
This rewrite, however, will take some time – time that we do not have given the proximity to the general election. For this reason, I am hereby directing code enforcement staff to forego enforcement of certain provisions of the Village code related to temporary signs/signage.
Effective immediately and until the Village’s sign regulations are properly amended, or until November 3, 2020, whichever is sooner, code enforcement staff shall enforce only those provisions of the sign regulations related to temporary signs/signage that are content neutral and relate to public safety. All other regulations that pertain to permanent signs/signage, including permitting and the payment of fees shall continue to be enforced.
As stated above, this is only an interim measure meant to address the concerns expressed here, in light of the upcoming election season. As soon as is practicable, the administration will work with the planning staff to draft the necessary amendments to the code and present the amendments to the council for review and approval. After which, comprehensive code enforcement of the sign regulations will be reinstated.
For questions about temporary sign enforcement related to the above issue, please email lstout [at] corrales-nm.org or srice [at] corrales-nm.org