Metromedia v. City of San Diego
United States Supreme Court
453 U.S. 490 (1981)
Metromedia (plaintiff) ran an outdoor-advertising business with many billboards in San Diego. The City of San Diego (defendant) passed an ordinance sharply limiting outdoor advertising: on-site signs were allowed, but off-site commercial ads were banned, and all noncommercial advertising was banned except for twelve enumerated exceptions. The City said the ordinance served traffic safety and aesthetics. Metromedia sued to enjoin enforcement. The trial court found the ordinance unconstitutional, the California Court of Appeal affirmed, and the California Supreme Court reversed, upholding the ordinance.
Whether a land-use regulation that prohibits some, but not all, noncommercial advertisements on billboards violates the First Amendment right to free speech.