"To Nortman, the roadside real estate signs were nothing more than visual blight, a blemish tainting the rustic beauty of Olivenhain, a bucolic community of homes and horse farms nestled among the rolling hills on the eastern edge of Encinitas. Worse yet, Nortman said, most of the 4-by-8-foot billboards and smaller real estate signs were illegal, built without proper permits or set up in public right of ways."
"The company's owner, Al Wylie, slapped Nortman with a $1.6-million lawsuit in 1985, alleging that he was responsible for the loss of $20,000 in signs that had been uprooted. Later, Wylie added Tom Buckel, another Olivenhain resident and noted sign hater, to the lawsuit."
"But a funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse. Nortman and Buckel became something of folk heroes in these parts, where the only things many locals hate more than the illegal roadside signs are the housing tracts they herald."
Bob Nortman objected to the proliferation of real estate signs lining roadways near his home in Olivenhain, viewing them as visual blight and illegal structures lacking proper permits. He launched a campaign against the signs by complaining to local officials, documenting violations with photographs, writing letters to newspapers, and speaking at public meetings. His activism inspired other residents to remove signs themselves. Sign company owner Al Wylie responded by suing Nortman for $1.6 million in damages from uprooted signs, later adding fellow activist Tom Buckel to the lawsuit. Despite the legal action, Nortman and Buckel gained support from community members who shared their opposition to the signs and the development they represented.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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