E & J Equities v. Board of Adjustment of the Township
of Franklin (A-40-14; 075207)
A digital billboard, as a form of communication, is
subject to the protections afforded to speech under
the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
and the New Jersey Constitution. To the extent that a
municipality seeks to restrict billboards, the
regulation must find support in the governmental
interests that the municipality seeks to protect or
advance. Although the Township relied upon aesthetic
and public safety concerns in banning digital
billboards, while permitting static billboards in
designated zones, the record fails to demonstrate that
the ban furthers the governmental interests that the
Township asserts. The ordinance ban on digital
billboards is therefore unconstitutional.
