The owner of Leavitt’s Country Bakery in Conway, N.H., is celebrating after a federal judge concluded the way town officials sought to regulate a big colorful mural on the front of his business was unconstitutional.
The town had interpreted the 90-square-foot painting, which depicts baked goods arranged like a mountainous horizon, as an oversized sign advertising the goods for sale inside, so officials directed the bakery in 2022 to modify the painting or take it down.
But US District Judge Joseph N. Laplante, who presided over a bench trial earlier this year, ruled Monday that local officials had taken an “operationally illogical” approach in their enforcement actions against the bakery.
Laplante’s ruling doesn’t declare Conway’s sign code unconstitutional as written, and it doesn’t foreclose the possibility that the town might lawfully regulate the display in another manner.
Nonetheless, bakery owner Sean Young is celebrating the win and championing the painting that was produced by a group students from Kennett High School.
“I’m thrilled that the students’ artwork can remain up, I’m thrilled that my First Amendment rights have been vindicated, and I’m thrilled that the community can continue to enjoy the beautiful piece of art,” Young said in a statement released by the Institute for Justice, which represented him in the litigation.
“I think our mural is a wonderful depiction of everything that makes the Mount Washington Valley such a great place to live,” he added.
Betsy Sanz, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, said towns can regulate the size and number of signs, but can’t “pick and choose what signs to regulate based on what they depict.”
Brooke Lovett Shilo, an attorney for Conway officials, said the outcome of this case is disappointing, but the defendants agree with the judge’s conclusion that they acted in good faith throughout the process.
“The Town will continue to work conscientiously and in good faith to ensure that the constitutional rights of all are not infringed, while maintaining public safety and Conway’s natural beauty,” she said.
The town has enforced its sign code against other businesses. In one case, an ice cream parlor’s cone-shaped trash cans were deemed signs, but the business then secured special permission to use the cans. In another, a sporting goods store agreed to remove window screens with photos of mountain bikes and skis.
Young’s lawsuit was paused for a few months in 2023 as residents considered revising how the town defines signs, in a way that would have allowed the painting to stay up. But that measure was seen as too broad and complex, and it failed to pass.
Last year, voters passed a new ordinance that requires applicants to meet criteria for art on public and commercial property, but it has not applied to Young’s case.
This story has been updated with a comment from Brooke Lovett Shilo and includes material from the Associated Press.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.