Billboards are meant to catch your attention, but one in particular is stirring up debate near Waxahachie. It's off Interstate 35E, just south of city limits.
The sign shows hands clasped, with the message "Did you think to pray?" Some feel it fits well in Waxahachie.
“I'm for the billboard and I'm for prayer, so I hope it can stay,” said Rennae de Freitas, a Waxahachie resident.
The billboard structure has been on the outskirts of town since 2015, but the current owner, Media Choice, put the sign up several months ago.
Dan Gus is the attorney representing the company.
“I think they thought it was a good inclusive, positive message and they put it up because they had the space to do it,” Gus said.
On Thursday, the city attorney sent him an enforcement letter, demanding the sign be taken down. He posted to Facebook about it. Waxahachie’s communications director, Amy Borders, said she saw concerned comments and she wants to be clear that it’s not because of religion.
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"The sign would still be non-compliant if it were blank," she said in a statement to NBC 5.
According to the letter, the billboard falls within Waxahachie's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and it was never permitted or inspected by the city before going up. But the bigger issue, according to Gus, is the city's claim that the ads violate a city ordinance, including the one on the backside, promoting a motel.
“If I put up a message that says 'buy this sign' it's legal. If I say buy this sign down the road, then it's illegal,” he said.
The city deemed it "off premise" – meaning it's advertising something not directly on the property.
By the 22-year-old rule, the city can regulate what's allowed on a sign.
“The supreme court has said signs that target content are presumptively unconstitutional,” Gus said.
If you've driven nearby on highway 287, you've likely seen billboards promoting things not right there.
Borders said some may be grandfathered in.
Gus said he's checking into the permitting claims, but he hopes to meet with city leaders to find a resolution.
“They're not anti-religion. They're just good people stuck with trying to enforce a really bad statute and hopefully this presents an opportunity to fix that,” he said.
Borders tells NBC 5 this isn't the first letter. She said the city sent one to the owner last summer. The city attorney said Gus has until next Friday, Jan. 25, to set up a meeting before he files suit to remove the billboard.
