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Morton trustees pass ordinance updating sign and flagpole rules to comply with court rulings
Summary
Trustees approved Ordinance 26-11, which revises sign and flagpole regulations in the Morton Municipal Code to remove content-based distinctions and address recent court guidance on signage and free-speech limits.
The Morton Board of Trustees approved Ordinance 26-11, amending chapters of the Morton Municipal Code that govern signs and flagpoles.
Village counsel and staff told trustees the changes are intended to bring local rules into alignment with recent Supreme Court and other case law addressing content-based restrictions on signs and to remove or reframe provisions that required the village to read message content. Counsel said the revisions aim to preserve the village’s ability to regulate sign size, placement and safety while avoiding content discrimination that courts have found unconstitutional.
Trustees discussed details in the draft ordinance, including a provision that addresses nonresidential signs in residential districts and a height provision for certain signs that reads 4.5 feet. A trustee questioned whether a 4.5-foot height limit was appropriate for real-estate signs and asked whether square-footage limits apply to each face of a two-sided sign; counsel replied that square-footage typically refers to the face of the sign. Trustees also asked staff to define "barter sign" because the text was relocated from a temporary-signs section. The ordinance text treats fabric displayed for commercial advertising as a sign and subjects it to standard size and location limits; enforcement would fall under the code-enforcement staff’s existing authority.
Ending: Trustees approved the ordinance by roll call. Staff said definitions and enforcement language will be finalized with counsel and staff before publication.
