DENVER (Legal Newsline) – Two companies are suing the Colorado Department of Transportation, arguing its regulation of billboards is unconstitutional.
StreetMediaGroup and Turnpike Media filed suit Dec. 8 in Denver federal court against CDOT in an attempt to convince a judge that CDOT’s program violates the companies’ First Amendment rights by requiring special permits for billboards with certain types of messages.
The companies complain the system took 260 days to process, then deny, four permit applications.
“Plaintiff StreetMediaGroup… considers it futile to seek CDOT approval for similarly situated signs that have been permitted by local governments but not yet constructed,” the lawsuit says.
“The face of the CDOT regulations and CDOT’s threats of enforcement of the CDOT program unconstitutionally abridge and chill Plaintiffs’ right to free speech, causing immediate and irreparable harm.”