Rooftop Cross in San Clemente Not a ‘Sign,’ Says Judge Who Rules It’s Legal

The law works in mysterious ways.

A judge ruled Thursday that a cross is not a sign, at least not as defined in San Clemente’s sign ordinance.

Surf shop owner Richard Landingham can keep a 10-foot cross with two U.S. flags and red holiday lights on the roof of his business, Orange County Superior Court Judge Frances Munoz ruled Thursday.

Assistant City Atty. Jeff Goldfarb said the ruling essentially “has afforded Mr. Landingham the opportunity to be the only person in the city to legally mount a sign on his roof.”

Landingham put up the cross and lights shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as a memorial to those killed and an expression of his Christian faith. But city officials said it violated the sign ordinance, which prohibits all rooftop signs, regardless of their message.

The two parties have been at odds over the cross for more than a year, and the city took him to court. A week ago, a jury deadlocked on whether the cross is an illegal sign but found Landingham guilty of not obtaining a permit for the cross or for a business sign on the side of the building.

Munoz, noting the jury’s confusion over the legality of the cross, said that as written, the city’s sign ordinance did not clearly apply to Landingham’s cross. But she upheld the permit offenses, fined him $715 and placed him on unsupervised probation for a year.

Landingham, who owns LAP Extreme surf shop and has arranged to pay the fine in 10 installments, still claimed victory Thursday.

The city’s sign ordinance is meant, he said, to regulate advertisements pertaining to a specific business. “I don’t sell crosses. It’s my religion; it has nothing to do with my business.”

The bottom line, said Landingham, is that “the judge said I don’t need ... any permits for the cross whatsoever.”

City officials were assessing the ruling late Thursday.