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A Mansfield regulation restricting the subject matter, number, size and duration of political yard signs has been formally abandoned by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, a decision praised today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut.
The repealed regulations permitted advocating the election or defeat of candidates for political office, but didn’t allow signs advocating political positions in more general terms. Signs like “Health Care for All” or “Abortion is Murder,” or signs calling for impeachment of an officeholder, were not permitted. Display of permitted signs was not allowed until 30 days before an election, and their removal was required within five days after the election. The ACLU argued that the regulations discriminated on the basis of subject matter.
“The free exchange of ideas is an essential part of our democracy,” said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the ACLU-CT. “Mansfield’s decision to repeal these onerous restrictions will now allow its residents to engage fully in the traditional American right of free expression.”
The PZC's July 19 vote to repeal the zoning regulations followed a five-year effort by the ACLU, initiated by the Northeast Chapter of the ACLU-CT. In response to the initial request, the Mansfield PZC had decided to keep the offending regulations on the books but not to enforce them; instead a request that residents voluntarily comply was added to the regulations.
In a letter to town officials in the fall of 2009, the ACLU-CT cited a landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that displaying signs on the walls, windows, or lawns of one’s residence is both protected by the First Amendment and a key component of the right to “individual liberty in the home.”
In its final action, the TPZ went further than just rescinding the regulations, said Cynara Stites, president of the ACLU-CT’s Northeast Chapter. “The PZC also broadened options for displaying political lawn signs by allowing residents to post such signs on the rights-of-way of town roads with the permission of the abutting private property owners. This provision allows residents to post political lawn signs where they are readily visible even though the road right-of-way is actually town property."
Marty Margulies was cooperating attorney in pursuing the issue for the ACLU-CT.
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