Calif. church battling county to keep up 'Support Our Troops' billboard

(Fox40)

A church in California's Nevada County is battling local officials to keep up a "Support Our Troops" sign.

According to FOX40, the Simple Truth Church recently was told by the county Planning Department that its billboard has to come down. The message from the county came after the church touched up the run-down sign and painted the patriotic message on it.

But that’s the problem. According to county regulators, “no changes can be made to an existing sign without getting approval from the planning department first.”

Pastor Jeff Alaways from Simple Truth Church told FOX40 that residents of the county are "very patriotic," and said the message itself is not in dispute.

"[It] had nothing to do with what the sign is saying, what it has to do with is it’s out of compliance with county ordinance on signage,” he said.

If the church chooses, it could apply for a permit and put up the billboard again after the paperwork is in order.

County Planning Department Director Brian Foss told FOX40, “We look forward to meeting with the church and getting everything legalized.”

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