Bakery, New Hampshire town in legal battle over supersized doughnut mural
It hasn’t been a cakewalk for this New Hampshire bakery.
Leavitt’s Country Bakery is embroiled in a legal battle with the town of Conway after officials said that its massive mural of doughnuts outside needs to be taken down.
The bakery’s owner, Sean Young, who filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the town earlier this year, wrote on Facebook Sunday: “Unfortunately the saga isn’t over yet.”
Both sides “agree they will have to litigate this controversy,” according to a joint statement filed Wednesday in federal court.
The painting on Young’s business depicts the sun shining over a colorful array of pastries, including chocolate and strawberry doughnuts with sprinkles, a muffin, cinnamon roll among other baked goods.
The sign, which looms large over Young’s business at approximately 90 square feet, is four times bigger than the local sign code allows.
As a result, zoning officials said the painting was closer to an advertisement than art. Young was told he could either remove the mural, which was painted a year ago by local high school art students — or face the possibility of being met with fines or criminal charges.
He filed a lawsuit in January, saying the town is violating his freedom of speech rights.
According to local officials, the mural would be welcome to stay if it depicted real-life mountains instead of pastries taking the form of mountains — or if the building it was illustrated across was not a bakery.
Both sides agreed in February to pause court proceedings pending a vote on a revised sign code that would allow the painting to stay, but the vote failed to pass.
The measure failed to gain traction during town elections in April, even though locals generally seem to have positive feelings about the painting, according to the Associated Press, citing local newspapers.
The proposed change seemed to fail because it “would only further complicate enforcement” of the town’s zoning rules.
“The town articulated that it continued to view the painted panels affixed to a portion of the Leavitt’s facade as a ‘sign’ prohibited by the sign code. As such, there remains a live controversy between the parties that requires this court’s attention,” a joint statement from both sides released Wednesday read.
Conway will have until July 21 to formally respond to Young’s lawsuit and then both sides will meet by Aug. 4 to submit a report to the judge.
Both sides “continue to believe there will likely be few if any contested issues of material fact,” the statement said.
Young, who is being represented by the Virginia-based Institute for Justice, asked for $1 in damages.
With Post wires.
