SC19730 - Kutcha v. Arisian (Zoning; "'The outdoor sign or symbol is a venerable medium for expressing political, social and commercial ideas.' (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Metromedia, Inc. v. San Diego, 453 U.S. 490, 501, 101 S. Ct. 2882, 69 L. Ed. 2d 800 (1981). The primary issue we must resolve in this case is whether General Statutes § 8-2, which authorizes a municipality's zoning commission to regulate the height, size, and location of 'advertising signs and billboards,' permits a municipality to regulate signs erected on residential property that disparage a commercial vendor.

The plaintiff, the zoning enforcement officer for the city of Milford, appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying the plaintiff's request for permanent injunctions ordering the defendant homeowner . . . to remove signs on her property that were not in compliance with city zoning regulations and precluding the defendant from occupying the property until she obtained certain certificates required after home improvements had been made to her residence. We conclude that the defendant's signs are not 'advertising signs,' and, accordingly, the trial court properly concluded that municipal regulation of such signs is outside the scope of the authority granted under § 8-2. We further conclude that the trial court properly exercised its discretion when it declined to issue an injunction precluding the defendant from occupying the subject premises.")