Redmond takes bagel case to court again

The city of Redmond took its case against Blazing Bagels' dancing advertising board to court again on Tuesday, hoping to appeal previous court decisions that found the city's ordinances unconstitutional.

Attorneys on both sides argued their case in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' three-judge panel, debating the finding of previous similar court cases and the finer points of political signs, real-estate signs and bagel-shop signs.

At the crux of the issue is a small but thriving bagel shop tucked into an industrial-park area that wants to be allowed to advertise to potential customers driving nearby.

Dennis Ballen, owner and self-described "head bagel" of Blazing Bagels, said that for him, this case isn't just about constitutional rights, it's a matter of keeping bread in the ovens and in his wallet. Portable signs are the best way of advertising because otherwise people wouldn't know his off-the-path shop exists, he said.

For the city, this fight is about keeping visual blight and clutter off its sidewalks, which it says can distract drivers and cause traffic hazards.

The city wants to regulate signs in the city, allowing some uses for real-estate agents, political signs or celebratory display banners, but not everything, said Zack Lell, an attorney with Ogden Murphy Wallace, which is representing the city.

Lell said that past court cases have upheld cities' rights to regulate signage within their boundaries.

Steve Simpson, attorney with Institute for Justice, which is representing Ballen, said the city's form of regulations unfairly favored real-estate agents over retail shops.

Ballen filed his lawsuit in 2003 to fight a city ordinance that banned portable signs, but exempted some signs, including real-estate and political signs, some construction signs and display banners.

Federal-court judges have twice found that the city of Redmond violated Ballen's constitutional rights by barring him from using portable signs to advertise his business.

After the U.S. District Court ruled in 2004 that the city's ordinance was unconstitutional, the city changed the ordinance to allow portable signs, such as A-board or sandwich signs to be displayed by businesses, provided the advertisements stay off sidewalks, center medians, roads or bikeways.

The ordinance bans animated signs, such as those that are rotated or waved.

The city would prefer to re-enact the previous ordinance banning most portable signs, Lell told the court Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ballen said he has tried to hire someone to hold his sign, but no one will take the job.

"They're afraid of being arrested," he said. So Ballen has taken matters into his own hands, and now every shirt he wears is emblazoned with a "Blazing Bagels" logo.

"It's on everything I own," Ballen said. "That way, I'm always selling and promoting my product. I am Blazing Bagels."

Rachel Tuinstra: 206-515-5637 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com