July 09, 2003

(Updated) Breaking News: Commissioner Leonard Suspends Enforcement Of Ordinance Against Murals

Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.

I was going to just post an update to the post immediately preceding, but I decided this was important enough to place on it's own. The following was posted this evening as a comment to that item:

The first I heard of this issue was when I read the paper today. As the Commissioner in Charge of the Bureau of Development Services (the Bureau that orderd the murals painted over) I ordered the Bureau to not require the murals in the Oreogian story painted over. More over, I ordered the bureau to suspend enforcing that ordinance. It is my intention to sort this thing out and draft an ordinance that allows such artistic experessions as illustrated in the two pictures in the Oregonian.
Commissioner Randy Leonard

So the City's sign code is about to fall into serious legal flux, as they try to sort out how to clear the way for such community artwork without running afoul of previous City determinations that the state's constitution requires equal protection for commercial and non-commercial expression.

I will, of course, stay in the loop on this one.

July 09, 2003

Update

Relevant to this is Mirador's own statement regarding the mural controversy, which includes this:

We were also contacted by Erik Sten's office. They are very supportive (Sten did not support the original code changes making murals into signs). Although Sten is no longer in charge of the bureau responsible for sign codes, he has conferred with Randy Leonard (the new commissioner in charge) to fill him in on the history of this code change. Both Sten and Leonard are in support of changing the code so that murals can again be painted without being considered signs. He has offered to meet with business and community people to discuss what needs to be done.

Posted at 08:53 PM | PermalinkComments (1) | TrackBacks (1)
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Comments (1)

  1. jack bog on 10 Jul 2003

    Cue the jerks in the billboard industry, and their lawyers.

    Somebody ought to organize a boycott against any company advertising on a billboard owned by whichever company sues Leonard over this. Just call the advertiser and say, "I support noncommercial murals in Portland. You are advertising on a billboard owned by X Billboard Co., which is attacking such murals. Therefore, I won't be patronizing your business." After about the 10th of these phone calls, the business might be making some interesting calls of its own.

Trackbacks (1)

  1. Up against the wall on 28 Mar 2004

    What do you expect from a firefighter if not common sense and courage? That's what Portland firefighter-turned-City Commissioner Randy Leonard is showing as he has suspended enforcement of the city's sign code against artistic murals. As ably reported ...