Currently, there are no laws on the books regarding postering in the City of Seattle, according to John Zavis, Seattle Department of Transportation (DOT). The previous postering laws, adopted in 1994, were recently found to be unconstitutional by the Washington State Court of Appeals, but the City is using that old deterrent to free speech, "regulation of time, place, and manner," to try to control the situation anyway.

Abbie Hoffman said, "America, land of the free. Free means you don't pay, doesn't it?" When I think of free speech on public property, I think that it can be anonymous so it can be radical and safe. I think that one free speech poster can be placed on top of another free speech poster without breaking laws! I think of free speech lasting longer than 30 days or 48 hours after an event. But recommendations the Seattle DOT is currently making to Seattle's City Council and the state's courts, to try to regulate "time, place and manner" of free speech in Seattle, would ban all of that. The recommendations are despicable.

The DOT does not know if or when their suggested new revisions will be accepted or rejected. Right now, the laws are in a state of limbo. The current situation favors free speech, the real, unregulated, constitutional kind. The suggested changes by the DOT include a statement that implies permits, with fees, may be required to cover fees to clean up posters left on poles. Somehow all poles in public parks are banned from postering in the new provisions, so free speech in public parks is a no-no. There is a height requirement, not to exceed 24 inches, aimed at prohibiting "super-size" posters. (Apparently free speech is not allowed in Super-Size.) There are other height requirements recommended also, such as that no sign shall be higher than six feet above the ground. Attachment methods are also addressed in the new revisionist postering policy; string (??!), small staples and tape were listed as acceptable; large staples, nails and glue were not.

The next requirement is pretty funny. The City wants posters to not be allowed to be any more than one layer thick: "Signs shall not be placed on top of each other." The sign material is addressed; wood and metal signs are banned in the revision, as well as flashing, animated, and video display signs. The city would like dates to be required in the left lower corner of the poster "in printing no smaller than 18 point..." In addition, the city wants contact phone numbers to be required on the posters, in the left hand corner, next to the date, no smaller than 18 point. The new suggested maximum of 30 days (hence the date in the corner) or 48 hours after the event, would be the deadline for poster removal. Anything left after that time will be considered "litter." The city then goes on to recommend it can then collect this "litter" and bill the contact phone number contact for the cleanup, at city employee wages: "The sign sponsor will be responsible for the costs associated with the removal to the extent allowed by law."

I don't know about you, but to me, this regulating "time, manner and place" thing seems to directly conflict with Constitutional rights. The poster ban was found unconstitutional, so what does the City of Seattle do? Try to ban them again, but in other ways. Semantics.

Instead of a ban, now, we may post posters all we like, so long as the posters: are no higher than six feet and no bigger than 24 inches, include contact phone numbers and dates in the specified size and place, are placed in the permitted locations for no longer than the specified period of time, use small staples...where is the free part in all that again?