Coffey v. Fayette County

The Court remanded for trial court to determine if a provision of a Fayette county sign ordinance restricting the number and size of non-commercial signage in residential areas is the least restrictive means of achieving the county's significant government interests.

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The appellants appeal from an order of the trial court denying their request to temporarily enjoin the enforcement of certain provisions of the Fayette County Sign Ordinance. The appellants contend, primarily, that the trial court applied an incorrect standard for determining the constitutionality of the ordinance. Because we agree that the trial court applied an inappropriate standard, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion. In 1999, Fayette County adopted a sign ordinance that, among other things, restricts non-commercial signs in residential areas to one sign per lot and to a size of no more than six square feet. Appellants Curtis Coffey and Wayne Charles are individual residents of Fayette County, and they filed this action in July 2004, contending that the foregoing parts of the county’s sign ordinance are unconstitutional. They also sought an interlocutory injunction prohibiting enforcement of the relevant parts of the ordinance pending a final determination of the case. The trial court denied the appellants’ motion solely on the ground that “there is a rational relationship between the County’s sign restrictions and its interests in aesthetics and traffic safety.” From this order, the appellants have filed this appeal.

1. The appellants contend that the trial court applied an incorrect standard for determining the validity of the county’s sign restrictions. We agree and thus reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Coffey v. Fayette County

The Court remanded for trial court to determine if a provision of a Fayette county sign ordinance restricting the number and size of non-commercial signage in residential areas is the least restrictive means of achieving the county's significant government interests.

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