Temple City Expected to Rescind 50% English Requirement in Signs

The Temple City City Council was expected to act Tuesday night to rescind an ordinance requiring that at least 50% of all business signs be in English after two civil rights groups complained that the law was discriminatory.

In a Sept. 6 letter to city officials, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and the American Civil Liberties Union asked the council to voluntarily repeal the ordinance, said Kathryn Imahara, an attorney for the Asian legal center.

Temple City’s action apparently would be the first time a city in the San Gabriel Valley, which has a growing Asian population, has voluntarily rescinded such a law, said ACLU attorney Robin Toma.

In Monterey Park, where more than half the population is Asian, officials in January approved a compromise ordinance that requires businesses to state either the name or nature of the business in English on all signs.

No Percentage Requirement

The Monterey Park ordinance does not, however, require that a specific percentage of a sign be in English. City officials believe that is a key point that apparently forestalled legal challenges there.

A Pomona ordinance similar to Temple City’s was struck down July 14 after U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi said it restricted free speech and discriminated on the basis of national origin. Pomona officials have decided not to appeal that decision, Toma said.

Shortly after the Pomona decision, Temple City council members told their staff to suspend enforcement of the sign requirement, said City Manager Karl Koski.

The city has not determined if any business signs violate the ordinance, said community development director Robert Dawson. He said that since 1987, when he began working for the city, no one has challenged the ordinance.

The law was adopted in 1985 in part because of safety concerns from law enforcement officials who feared they would have trouble finding addresses while responding to emergencies. But some residents also hoped to prevent a proliferation of foreign language signs.

Other communities, including Arcadia, Rosemead and San Gabriel, which have similar language requirements in their sign ordinances, also may be asked to end the restrictions, Imahara said. She said the legal groups decided to start with Temple City because they have identified a business owner there who wants to challenge the ordinance.