A couple weeks ago, the International Sign Association’s (ISA) weekly newsletter linked to a Signs of the Times article about how the city of Livermore, Calif., decided to completely ban all signage on public property—so good luck getting notified about yard sales, open houses, 5Ks and fun runs, and, well, just about anything else. And the thing about sign codes is that they can cause unforeseen problems.

Concerns have been raised about potential unintended consequences impacting individuals involved in real estate transactions, small businesses, and other endeavors reliant on sign advertising. The increased costs associated with alternative advertising methods could pose challenges to some.

So we may not have heard the end of this ban, as recent court history has shown. To wit: last month, the ISA hosted a webinar presented by the Sign Research Foundation that looked at the current legal lay of the land when it comes to sign codes. Some of the issues raised in the webinar have been covered fairly thoroughly in the past (Reed v. Town of Gilbert, et al.) although some new recent cases have raised entirely new issues—specifically concerning murals, and whether they are considered art or signage.