A federal lawsuit alleges that the city of Atlanta is overstepping its bounds by threatening the removal of murals and other art located on private property.
"A group of artists and property owners on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Atlanta to halt the city’s regulation of murals on private property," reports Bill Rankin.
The lawsuit focuses on the city's regulation of existing art as well as new art—both require application processes with threat of prosecution of destruction of the art. "The city recently notified a number of artists and property owners that they had until June 9 to comply with the ordinance’s requirements or have their murals removed and be cited for violations," according to Rankin's sources. The law has been on the city's books since 1982.
Hat tip to Rachel Dovey, who shared this news for Next City. Dovey also implies that the implementation of this ordinance and the lawsuit contradict the policy goals established when Mayor Kasim Reed proposed a dedicated source of revenue to support local artists.
FULL STORY: Artists, landowners sue Atlanta over crackdown on murals
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