July 13, 2011 - Jim Roos was thrilled to learn early Wednesday that a federal appeals court had ruled that he had a right to protest the use of eminent domain with a two story tall sign on the side of an apartment building in Soulard. The sign, which Roos commissioned, is visible from the intersection of Interstates 44 and 55. Robert Cohen rcohen@post-dispatch.com
ST. LOUIS • A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down at least part of St. Louis' sign ordinance and ruled that a St. Louis man had the right to protest eminent domain with a two-story mural on the side of an apartment building near Soulard.
Jim Roos commissioned the two-story painted mural, roughly 360 square feet in size, that proclaims "End Eminent Domain Abuse" inside a red circle with a slash to protest the government's taking of private land, but the city ordered him to remove it in 2007, saying it violated city sign regulations prohibiting signs in that area larger than 30 square feet.
The sign is visible from Interstates 44 and 55.
Roos and two entities that he controls sued the city, arguing that the sign was a political statement protected by the Constitution. Roos is also a spokesperson for the Missouri Eminent Domain Abuse Coalition (MEDAC).
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