Vicksburg ban on billboards challenged in court

admin//August 19, 2003//

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An advertising sign company is taking Vicksburg, Miss., officials to federal court over a new ordinance banning billboards inside the city. Lamar Co. LLC, which filed the lawsuit, claims the ban violates its right to free speech. The company also appealed a city order that a billboard sign on Bowmar Avenue be removed because it has deteriorated and is dangerous. The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen rejected the appeal. “We’re very pro-private sector, but your product is no longer needed in our city,” said Mayor Laurence Leyens. Lisa Reppetf, a Lamar Company spokeswoman who appeared at a Monday city board meeting, did not discuss the lawsuit. Regarding the Bowmar billboard, she said the company was willing to repair it, but that the new sign ordinance adopted by the city in 2002 prevents that needed work. Dalton McCarty, city zoning administrator, said billboards will be phased out inside the city under the new ordinance. The only billboards allowed will be on perimeter highways. Signs like the one on Bowmar will be allowed to remain only until beyond repair, he said. McCarty said that language in the ordinance prevents billboard owners from making major renovations to extend the life of the signs. Reppetf did not say if the company will abide by the board’s order and remove the signs or take further legal action. No hearing date for the lawsuit has been set.