Case Note: Property Law—Outdoor Advertising Control Acts Slice City Funds into the Bunker—In re Denial of Eller Media Company’s Applications for Outdoor Advertising Device Permits in the City of Mounds View

Abstract

This note first examines a brief history of the municipal development of the comprehensive plan and outdoor advertising control legislation, the federal government’s promulgation of the Highway Beautification Act, and the Minnesota Outdoor Advertising Control Act. Upon review of the background of the Eller Media case, this note highlights the opinion rendered by the Minnesota Supreme Court. An analysis of the supreme court’s interpretation in light of the outdoor advertising control acts and regulations follows, including an examination of the policies that underlie the pertinent statutes. This note concludes that based on the state of the golf course today, the supreme court’s strict interpretation of the advertising control statutes focused too narrowly on the zoning label instead of the actual land use