A Radford sign ordinance infringes on free speech, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which also announced Monday that it will file suit against the city if the ordinance isn't repealed.

City council approved the zoning ordinance -- part of which pertains to Radford University fraternities and sororities -- in May. The Greek-related section of the ordinance requires that fraternity and sorority signs must be located "in the UD university/business district or business district (generally five blocks east and west of the campus.)" The signs can't be any larger than 3 feet by 5 feet, and they must also be approved by the university's Office of Student Affairs and the city's zoning administrator.

"This ordinance treats student speech differently from other speech," said Kent Willis, director of the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, in a Monday interview. "It is constitutional to reasonably regulate signs, we're not arguing that. We're arguing the fact that structures in which students live are being treated differently than structures in which other people live."

Ultimately, Willis said, the issue is about free speech. "You can't give some degrees of free speech to some classes of people and other degrees of free speech to other classes of people. All speech can be reasonably regulated in terms of time, place and manner but you can't treat people differently with laws and policies."

Willis said that an individual affiliated with a Radford University student organization contacted the ACLU on June 12 to object to the sign ordinance. The union's privacy policy wouldn't allow him to name the person or the organization.

"From there, we did a little research and concluded that the ordinance was unconstitutional on its face," he said, adding that the matter went before a panel of 20 volunteer attorneys who reviewed the scenario and then recommended proceeding with litigation.

The ACLU faxed a letter to Radford City Attorney Jim Guynn on Friday to express concern.

Guynn said Monday that he would ask for direction from city council at Monday night's meeting.

He said that, in his opinion, the situation comes down to one question: "Does the city spend thousands to defend this case, or do they simply say no signs in residential areas?"

"This is a very interesting issue, and that zoning ordinance that regulates signs was the product of discussions between city staff, Radford University and representatives of fraternities and sororities," Guynn said. "The goal I think for the city is always to preserve its neighborhoods and their integrity, and that's what they've asked us to do and that's what we're doing. The alternative, in my mind, is simply to say 'OK, there will be no signs in residential neighborhoods.' "

Guynn said he questioned why the individual or individuals who contacted the ACLU did not make an appearance at the city's public hearing on the matter. Conversely, Radford University professor Bill Kovarik, who has spoken on behalf of students at public meetings, said the city has ignored warnings for some time.

"I certainly would encourage the ACLU to ask the courts to test what many of us have felt is an absurdly obvious infringement of the First Amendment. No one can seriously believe that students shed their Constitutional rights at the Radford city line. City Council was warned repeatedly about this, and they chose to ignore the warnings," Kovarik wrote in an e-mail Monday.

Mayor Tom Starnes said he first heard about the incident on Monday afternoon.

"I think that what we did was fair and equitable to all organizations and groups concerned, really," he said of the sign ordinance. "... To my knowledge, what we did was legal, and I guess anyone always has an opportunity to write and sue and it goes to court. We'll see what happens. We'll obviously abide by any ruling that a judge might rule or give out."