ArchitectureArt, LLC v. City of San Diego

231 F. Supp. 3d 828, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2966, 2017 WL 1226913
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedJanuary 6, 2017
DocketCase No. 15-cv-1592-BAS-NLS
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 231 F. Supp. 3d 828 (ArchitectureArt, LLC v. City of San Diego) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ArchitectureArt, LLC v. City of San Diego, 231 F. Supp. 3d 828, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2966, 2017 WL 1226913 (S.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT CITY OF SAN DIEGO’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Hon. Cynthia Bashant, United States District Judge

The City of San Diego (“City”) brings this Motion for Summary Judgment against ArchitectureArt LLC (“AArt” or Plaintiff). (ECF No 20.) The City argues: (1) Plaintiff lacks standing to challenge the City’s sign ordinance in its entirety; (2) Plaintiffs First Amendment claims should be dismissed because the code sections at issue (a) are not vague, (b) are content neutral as applied to Plaintiff and do not unconstitutionally distinguish between different mediums or speakers, or between commercial and non-commercial speech, (c) do not give the City unbridled discretion, and (d) do not subject Plaintiff to an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech; (3) Plaintiffs Equal Protection claims fail because Plaintiff does not present any evidence that Comic-Con approved artists were treated differently than Plaintiff; (4) Plaintiffs Due Process claims fail because there is no evidence of delegation of municipal powers to Comic-Con or Civic San Diego and Plaintiffs permits were denied under a constitutional sign ordinance; and (5) Plaintiffs Intentional Interference with Prospective Business Advantage claims fail because Plaintiff was engaged in an illegal business.

The Court GRANTS the City’s Motion for Summary Judgment, finding there is no genuine issue of fact with respect to the alleged constitutional violations and, there[835]*835fore, the claim for intentional interference with prospective business advantage must also fail. In light of this ruling, the court holds the issue of standing is moot.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. The Sign Ordinance

The San Diego sign ordinance at issue regulates signs visible from the public right-of-way. The express intent of these ordinances is to “optimize communication and quality of signs while protecting the public and the aesthetic character of the City.” SDMC § 142.1201. The sign ordinances apply only to City-owned property and not to property controlled by the San Diego Port District or the San Diego Trolley. (Declaration of Michael Richmond, ECF No. 50-3 (“Richmond Deck”) ¶ 12.) The San Diego Port District controls the San Diego Convention Center and much of the property south of the trolley tracks along Harbor Drive, including the Marriott and Hilton San Diego Bay hotels. (Id.)

All signs on City-controlled property must receive a permit from the City. SDMC § 142.1205. Signs may contain “on-premises or public interest messages only.” SDMC § 142.1210(a)(1). “On-premises messages” are defined as “those identifying or advertising an establishment, person, activity, goods, products, or services located on the premises where the sign is installed.” SDMC § 142.1210(a)(1)(A).

“Public interest messages” include (1) “official signs and notices, including historical markers and commemorative plaques,” (2) signs and notices identifying “nonprofit service clubs, religious organizations or charitable associations” and containing information relating to those organizations’ activities; and (3) “political or ideological signs” related either to a local election issue or candidate, or expressing ideological or political views. SDMC § 142.1210(a)(1)(B).

Exempted from this sign ordinance and the need to obtain a permit are “[pjainted graphics that are murals, mosaics, or any type of graphic arts that are painted on a wall or fence and do not contain copy, advertising symbols, lettering, trademarks, or other references to the premises, products or services that are provided on the premises where the graphics are located or any other premises.” SDMC § 142.1210(a)(3).

Both Lorena Cordova from Civic San Diego and Karen Maillet from the City interpret the mural exception as any painted art that is not advertising. (Declaration or Karen Frostrom (“Frostrom Deck”), Exh. I, ECF No. 21-3) (Email from Lorena Cordova stating that the idea behind a mural is that it is not an advertising mechanism, otherwise it’s considered signage); (Frostrom Deck, Exh. J, ECF No. 21-3, p. 34:3-7) (a mural is “something that doesn’t reflect any type of business activity that would be going on at that location or off premise.”)

Any citation for a violation of the sign ordinance is appealable and a cited individual may request a hearing before an Administrative Enforcement Hearing Officer. SDMC §§ 12.0501-0502, 12.0401-0413. After this hearing before an Administrative Enforcement Hearing Officer, the cited individual may seek further appellate review to the San Diego Superior Court by way of a writ of mandate. Cal. Civ. Proc. § 1094.6. Similarly, an individual may appeal the denial of a sign permit and may eventually seek judicial review to the Superior Court by way of writ of mandate. SDMC § 129.0809; Cal. Civ. Proc. § 1094.8.

B. Plaintiffs Signs

AArt is an outdoor mural company that does business in San Diego. (Joint State[836]*836ment of Undisputed Facts, ECF No. 24 (“JSUF”) ¶ 1.) Pamela Anderson is the owner and manager of AArt. (JSUF ¶ 2.) AArt obtained leases from various buildings throughout San Diego for the purpose of painting signs/murals.1 (JSUF ¶ 5.)

After obtaining the leases, Anderson contracted with companies to post large signs/murals on the buildings. (JSUF ¶ 6.) The City cited eleven of these signs as violating the City’s sign ordinance. (JSUF ¶ 8.) One of these signs (Discover Los An-geles) was approved as a mural exception to the sign ordinance once AArt painted out the words “Los Angeles” on the mural. (Frostrom Decl., Exh. I, ECF No. 21-3.) The decision to approve the “Discover Los Angeles” sign after removal of the words was made by Lorena Cordova, an Assistant Planner with Civic San Diego. (Id.) Two of the murals (Shock Top and Michelob Ultra) received permits that were later rescinded. (JSUF ¶¶ 10, 11.) One mural (Blue Moon) received approval, but the permit was denied before issuing. (Declaration of Catherine Richardson, ECF No. 20-8 (“Richardson Decl.”), Exh. 3, pp. 55-58.)

C. Comic-Con

AArt alleges that Comic-Con received special treatment with respect to signs in San Diego.2 Plaintiff attaches examples of large signs on the sides of buildings posted during Comic-Con without permits. (Declaration of Pamela Anderson (“Anderson Decl”), Exhs. GGGG-WW, ECF Nos. 21-10, 21-11.) It is unclear whether these signs are on San Diego Port Commission property or City property, although some of the signs are clearly on the Convention Center and the Marriott, which are Port Commission property. The signs are clearly advertising. Although both the Motion for Summary Judgment and Response discuss the City’s use of “Temporary Use Permits” (T.U.P.s), there is no evidence that Comic-Con had a T.U.P. with respect to the sign ordinance. (Frostrom Decl., Exh. H, ECF No. 21-2, pp. 98-99.)

The City does not proactively enforce violations of the sign ordinance. (Richardson Decl., Exh. 4, p. 64.) Unless the violation is egregious, generally the City just responds to complaints filed. (Id.) Anyone in the general public can register a complaint. (Id. at p. 65.) Employees with the City were given discretion in how to deal with code violations. (Frostrom Decl., Exh. K, ECF 21-3, p. 23.) Part of Lorena Cor-dova, at Civic San Diego’s, ministerial duties is sign enforcement. (Frostrom Decl., Exh. MM, ECF No. 21-4, p. 87.) She also processes T.U.P.s

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231 F. Supp. 3d 828, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2966, 2017 WL 1226913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/architectureart-llc-v-city-of-san-diego-casd-2017.