St. Louis Poster Advertising Co. v. City of St. Louis

Background

An outdoor advertising company that owned and leased private land in St. Louis sued the City and city officials to stop enforcement of an ordinance that strictly limits billboards. The company began one suit in state court (filed March 21, 1914; dismissed and affirmed May 22, 1917) and another in federal court (filed January 30, 1914; dismissed February 19, 1914). Ordinance No. 22,022 (April 7, 1905) forbids any billboard of twenty-five square feet or more without a permit; caps height at fourteen feet; requires four feet of open space at the bottom; sets minimum distances from buildings, other billboards, and the street line; limits area to five hundred square feet; and charges one dollar per five lineal feet for permits. The company said these rules would ruin its business; its billboards were fire- and wind-resistant, and it had contracts to display standardized posters.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether these limits unreasonably take away owners’ liberty or property rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. Relying on earlier decisions, the Court held that cities may treat billboards as a distinct class and regulate or prohibit them—especially in the interest of safety, morality, health, decency, and aesthetics. The Court noted the company’s precautions but found other objections sufficient to support the ordinance. Contracts made after the law and standard sizes of posters do not invalidate the regulation. For these reasons, the Court upheld the ordinance and affirmed the lower courts’ rulings.

Real world impact

The decision allows St. Louis to enforce strict rules on outdoor advertising, including size, height, spacing, and permit fees. Advertising businesses face limits on board design and placement and may have to remove nonconforming signs.