A community-led nonprofit and the city of Pomona have agreed to a settlement that resolves alleged free speech violations underlying a 2023 lawsuit over artwork on the facade of the organization’s youth center.
In court papers filed Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin, Gente Organizada is asking that its complaint be dismissed in the wake of the May 29 accord. Gente was cited in 2023 for images on the facade of its youth center that included a depiction imitating a roll with photos of protests against police abuses and biased policing.
The facade also has an image of some of the group’s community partners alongside the “end institutional violence” message.
In court papers filed soon after the suit was brought in August 2023, the city denied the group’s free speech violation allegations. On Monday, the group’s director of movement building, Ivan Hernandez, hailed the outcome of the case.
“While Pomona attempted to block our right to free speech and weaponized city code so that we could not exercise our right to artistic expression, we are grateful this litigation resulted in changes in the city code that uphold our constitutional rights — ensuring that other Pomona organizations are not unfairly subjected to improper citations and fines,” said Hernandez.
As a result of the lawsuit, Pomona worked with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and Gente to revise the city’s sign code to eliminate provisions in the law that violated the public’s constitutional rights to free speech and expression.
“We are pleased that the city shifted from its initial citations against Gente and instead worked with us to develop a revised sign code that respects constitutional rights,” said Jonathan Markovitz, staff attorney at the ACLU SoCal. “We hope this case inspires other cities to honor fundamental rights to free speech and expression when considering their own zoning and sign codes.”
The city has also agreed to revise the Pomona Public Art Code and to provide Gente and its counsel with an opportunity to weigh in on the revised code before it is presented to the city council. In addition, the city has agreed to allow Gente to mount new artwork without having to obtain a new permit for the next five years, and to waive the citations issued to Gente for its art and free expression.