Section 1 General Administration


Policy 1-8 CITY COUNCIL ADVERTISING POLICY

    COUNCIL POLICY NO. 1-8

DISTRIBUTION:    Mayor and City Council
All Departments

SUBJECT:        CITY COUNCIL ADVERTISING POLICY

PURPOSE:        To establish a nonpublic commercial advertising forum within the City of Lawton and establish standards for advertising within that forum, which encourages long-term commercial advertising, avoids the appearance of governmental favoritism, governmental entanglement with particular viewpoints, and does not disrupt government by creating controversy.        

BACKGROUND:    The City of Lawton in an effort to alleviate some of the financial
                                        burden for the operation of government is desirous of allowing
                                        commercial advertising on real or personal property in which the
                                        City of Lawton has a property interest sufficient to authorize advertising
                                        to generate revenue.  
         
POLICY:        All advertising must be submitted to the City of  Lawton for
approval of text and graphics based upon the following criteria:

1.  Only commercial advertising will be allowed.  Commercial advertising is   
     defined as advertising with expressions related solely to economic
     interests and offers for sale a product or service;  
            2.  Advertising for illegal activities will not be accepted;
            3.  Advertising which violates any federal, state, or local law will not be
     accepted;
4.  Advertising which is false, misleading or deceptive will not be
     accepted;
                     5.  No obscenity will be allowed.  Obscenity is defined as any
                                            communication, picture, image, graphic image, or other matter that the
                                            average person, applying contemporary community standards, would
                                            find, taking the material as a whole, appeals to prurient interest and
                                            whether it depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual
                                            conduct.
            6.  All advertising shall be located only on properties designated by contract.
 
REFERENCES:    Lebron V. National Railroad Passenger Corporation, 130 L.Ed. 2d  902,
115 S. Ct. 961 (1995); Children of the Rosary et al. v. City of Phoenix et
                                      al 154 F.3d 792 (9th Cir. 1998); Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)

EFFECTIVE DATE:    This 8th day of October, 2002.

RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT:  City Manager



___________________________
CECIL E. POWELL, MAYOR