Bakery owner Sean Young (second from right) speaks at the Leavitt's Country Bakery press conference to annouce a federal lawsuit against the town of Conway on Jan. 31. From left: Cooper Cargill Chant Attorney Jake Crabbs, Institute for Justice Litigation Fellow Betsy Sanz, bakery owner Sean Young, Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Rob Frommer. (RACHEL SHARPLES PHOTO)
Bakery owner Sean Young (second from right) speaks at the Leavitt's Country Bakery press conference to annouce a federal lawsuit against the town of Conway on Jan. 31. From left: Cooper Cargill Chant Attorney Jake Crabbs, Institute for Justice Litigation Fellow Betsy Sanz, bakery owner Sean Young, Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Rob Frommer. (RACHEL SHARPLES PHOTO)
CONWAY — Leavitt’s Country Bakery’s owner announced Tuesday he is bringing a federal lawsuit against Conway, alleging the town is violating the business’ First Amendment right to keep a mural depicting various pastries above its building. The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Concord by local attorney John Crabbs of Cooper Cargill Chant in North Conway and lawyers Robert Frommer and Elizabeth Sanz from the Arlington, Va.-based public-interest Institute for Justice.
Leavitt’s owner, Sean Young, Frommer and Sanz held a news conference in front of the Conway bakery at around 11 a.m. Tuesday. The announcement was covered by media outlets that included NHPR, WGME-Channel 13 and WMUR-Channel 9, organizers said.
The town should be ashamed of themselves. Why would you deny the zoning request? Why not just call it a mural, which it is and move on to more important matters. Very sad what is going on. Wish them victory in their law suit
It's sad that a long-time bakery has to fight for common sense! I am a member of the Appeals Board in my town. I'd be embarrassed if this happened on my watch!
There are so many other more important things that time and money could be spent on in this community. If the money being spent on this case was put towards heating for the vulnerable this winter would be such a better cause. What is so wrong with a beautiful painting above a business? Such a waste of time!
Clearly, Leavitt's Bakery will get more attention from the town's categorizing this work of art as a sign than they could ever buy in advertising. It baffles me that the town would call this a work of art if over the farmstand in the same parking lot but not over the bakery. I suppose if EMS or REI (or even LL Bean) put up a large mural of a mountain scene, that would also be called a sign?
Conway politics are so backwards. There was a sticker on a stop sign (North/South Rd) that said F*&% Cranmore for over a year and the code officer did nothing. My 5 and 6 year old's made sure to comment every time we drove past it. I covered it with another sticker (which is still there). I am going to put up a new sticker that says, F&%$ Jeremy Gibbs and see how long it takes him to remove it.
The town never acknowledged that the sign ordinance was "unconstitutionally vague." That was a quotation from attorney Randy Cooper which he used in presenting the case for Adventure Suites.
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The town should be ashamed of themselves. Why would you deny the zoning request? Why not just call it a mural, which it is and move on to more important matters. Very sad what is going on. Wish them victory in their law suit
It's sad that a long-time bakery has to fight for common sense! I am a member of the Appeals Board in my town. I'd be embarrassed if this happened on my watch!
There are so many other more important things that time and money could be spent on in this community. If the money being spent on this case was put towards heating for the vulnerable this winter would be such a better cause. What is so wrong with a beautiful painting above a business? Such a waste of time!
Clearly, Leavitt's Bakery will get more attention from the town's categorizing this work of art as a sign than they could ever buy in advertising. It baffles me that the town would call this a work of art if over the farmstand in the same parking lot but not over the bakery. I suppose if EMS or REI (or even LL Bean) put up a large mural of a mountain scene, that would also be called a sign?
Conway politics are so backwards. There was a sticker on a stop sign (North/South Rd) that said F*&% Cranmore for over a year and the code officer did nothing. My 5 and 6 year old's made sure to comment every time we drove past it. I covered it with another sticker (which is still there). I am going to put up a new sticker that says, F&%$ Jeremy Gibbs and see how long it takes him to remove it.
The town never acknowledged that the sign ordinance was "unconstitutionally vague." That was a quotation from attorney Randy Cooper which he used in presenting the case for Adventure Suites.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.