Denver Ordinances Prohibiting Erection of New Billboards and Requiring Removal of Existing Billboards Within Five-Year Period Unconstitutionally Exceed City’s Regulatory Power

Examines the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in Combined Communications Corp. v. City & County of Denver. In that case, the court struck down a zoning ordinance that prohibited the erection of new billboards and mandated the removal of the existing billboards. These ordinances, in the court’s view, were ultra vires. The court’s holding also relied on the reasonableness test of the state’s police power. The author hopes that this issue will soon be reexamined and the court will rely on a careful examination of the competing interests instead of substantive due process.