Neenah agrees not to enforce sign ordinance after Shattuck property dispute

NEENAH, Wis. (WBAY) - The City of Neenah is dropping enforcement of its sign ordinance while a federal lawsuit determines whether the ordinance is legal.

The city sent letters to homeowners to remove yard signs opposing the rezoning of the Shattuck Middle School property when the school closes. The letter said they violated a city ordinance because they were up for longer than 30 days. That limit doesn’t apply to political signs, but the city argued the zoning issue wasn’t in front of the city council.

According to the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), which sued the city on behalf of two homeowners, the city’s ordinance violates free speech rights. It also said the ordinance’s rules were arbitrary, setting different lengths of time depending on whether a sign was for a yard sale, political campaign, home selling, construction, or no trespassing.

WILL says Neenah’s decision allows the homeowners to put their yard signs back up. The lawsuit was filed on January 30.

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