The most talked about pastries in North Conway will stay put, after a federal judge ruled a mural depicting colorful muffins and donuts installed above Leavitt’s Country Bakery is protected by the First Amendment.
In June 2022, a group of local high school students painted the mural, which bakery owner Sean Young then hung above the entrance to his shop.
Within a week, a code enforcement officer for the town of Conway told Young that the painting — which showed pastries in the shape of mountains — was, in the town’s eyes, a commercial sign, and violated a size ordinance.
For nearly three years, Young and the town have gone back and forth over questions including: What is art? What is a “sign”? And, is the Conway zoning ordinance being fairly applied?
This week, Judge Joseph Laplante put an end to the dispute, ruling that the town’s enforcement in this case is “illogical” and violated the bakery’s free speech rights.
“I’m thrilled that the students’ artwork can remain up, I’m thrilled that my First Amendment rights have been vindicated, and I’m thrilled that the community can continue to enjoy the beautiful piece of art,” Young said in a statement.
Officials with the town of Conway told the court that they enacted the sign ordinance to ensure the safety and natural beauty of the region. But in his ruling, Laplante pointed to what he considered contradictory statements by public officials.
During public hearings about the painting, members of the zoning board suggested that if the mural depicted real mountains — as opposed to mountains made of flour, sugar and chocolate — then it would no longer classify as a sign in the town’s eyes.
Town officials also told Young that he could hang the mural in another location, or perhaps even behind his building, and then it wouldn’t violate the sign ordinance.
“What makes it a sign is the pastries,” a town official stated during a hearing.
To that, Judge Laplante wrote that the town’s ordinance in this case has “no rational connection to any of its stated interests” and that it is unconstitutional. He noted that the town’s definition of a sign appears to only include when a product or service is depicted.
Young was represented in the case by attorneys from the Institute for Justice, a non-profit legal group that aids “real people fighting outrageous government abuse,” according to its website.
“Towns can certainly regulate signs,” said Betsy Sanz, one of the attorneys who worked on the case. “They can regulate the size of signs or the number of signs permitted. But what they can’t do is pick and choose what signs to regulate based on what they depict.”
Town officials from Conway didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
