## Hood County Express's Post

### **Hood County Express**

3d

The temporary restraining order covers five signs and a banner on private property on West Pearl Street, the order says. A hearing on a longer injunction is set for Nov. 9.

FORT WORTH — A federal judge on Thursday granted a temporary restraining order that bars the City of Granbury from removing five political signs and a banner or issuing citations over them, according to a written order filed Oct. 29.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor granted the emergency motion in Krottinger v. City of Granbury, No. 4:26-CV-01369-O (N.D. Tex., Fort Worth Division, ECF 14), after a hearing Thursday. Counsel for both sides attended, the order says.

The judge wrote that plaintiff Kolton Krottinger "will suffer irreparable harm without injunctive relief from the Court." It also finds that the balance of hardships and the public interest favor Krottinger.

WHAT THE ORDER SAYS THE CITY CANNOT DO

The order temporarily restrains the City, its officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and others working with them who receive actual notice of the order, from:

  • Removing, confiscating, relocating or disposing of five signs and a banner, or charging any fee to return them. The signs read "OVERDIER WAS RECALLED," "FOR SUPPORTING DATA CENTER," "HES SUING THE CITY TO STOP RECALL," "OVERDIER IS WRONG FOR GRANBURY" and "VOTE HIM OUT!" A banner reads "Will you sacrifice the children's health?" Replacement copies of the same messages no larger than the signs are covered too. This applies while the signs are on the private property outside any public right-of-way or public easement.
  • Issuing or mailing any citation, complaint, notice of violation or fee to Krottinger over the signs or banner under Granbury Zoning Ordinance §§ 7.2.F(6) ("Snipe Signs"), 7.2.F(7), 7.3.4 or 7.4, or under Texas Election Code § 259.001.

If the City believes any sign stands in a public right-of-way or easement, the order says it must first identify to Krottinger's counsel in writing the recorded instrument, plat or survey it relies on before removing the sign.

WHAT THE ORDER DOES NOT DO

Under its terms, the order does not enjoin, stay or otherwise affect any proceeding pending in Granbury Municipal Court, including any case against the landowner or a business the order names.

Nor does it stop the City from enforcing its ordinance and the Election Code neutrally. The judge noted Krottinger's point that the order "would not stop the City from enforcing the Ordinance and Election Code neutrally," and agreed.

Judge O'Connor wrote that the order is "a preliminary determination designed to maintain the status quo" and set it to expire at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 12.

WHAT THE JUDGE FOUND

At this early stage, the judge wrote that Krottinger "demonstrates that the Defendant's application of the Zoning Ordinance violated his constitutional rights under the First and the Fourteenth Amendments." On the "snipe sign" rule, the judge wrote that the City "likely violated Plaintiff's First Amendment freedoms through a viewpoint-based application of a facially neutral law." The order says the banner citation also likely violates the First Amendment.

According to the order, the City argued at the hearing that Krottinger lacked standing because he did not pay the $50 after the City took the signs and because the citations went to the property owner, not to him. Rejecting that argument, the judge wrote that Krottinger "possesses standing to pursue this action."

The judge wrote that, with the Nov. 3 election less than a week away and early voting underway, Krottinger "will suffer irreparable harm if the City continues to issue citations for his signs."

BACKGROUND, AS THE ORDER DESCRIBES IT

Its account of events is drawn from Krottinger's verified complaint, unless it cites another source. According to that account, Krottinger leased space on private property for the signs and banner from Oct. 19 to Nov. 4. The signs concern Granbury City Council member Gary Overdier and the political controversy over data centers.

It says the City removed the signs on Oct. 19, the first day of early voting, while other political signs on the same lot stayed up. Mark Lowery, whom it identifies as county judge-elect, collected the signs from the City and paid $50, which the order calls a fine.

Per the order, a City official first cited the "snipe sign" rule and later said the signs were on an easement. The City then mailed six citations to the property owner on Oct. 21, five over the signs and one over the banner, the order says, and the penalty for each could be up to $2,000 a day.

Those are the order's descriptions of the complaint's allegations. HCE has reported on the removal. On Oct. 20, the City's communications manager pointed HCE to the City's open-records process rather than answering HCE's questions about it.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Bond: Krottinger must pay a $100 bond or deposit $100 with the Clerk of Court within 14 days of the order.

Hearing: the judge set a hearing for Nov. 9 at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 501, 501 W. 10th St., Fort Worth, to decide whether the restraining order should continue during the lawsuit.

Expiration: the restraining order expires at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 12.

No City response to the order was on file at publication time.

The order is Document 14 in the case. HCE will update this story as more information becomes available.

Disclosure: Kolton Krottinger, co-owner of the Hood County Express and the reporter on this story, is the plaintiff in this federal lawsuit and leases the property where the signs stand. Attorney Brandon Grable represents him.

Hood County Express — Est’d 1/26

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