Lawsuit says Rancho Cordova illegally OK’d Highway 50 billboard for city-tied entity
An advertising company has sued the City of Rancho Cordova for granting a city-affiliated nonprofit a special permit to erect a new billboard along Highway 50.
The Rancho Cordova City Council on Oct. 6 approved a conditional use permit and zoning amendment to allow the Cordova Community Council to put up the digital billboard at 3127 Fite Circle, near the Bradshaw Road exit.
Orion 51 Outdoor LLC, based in Cameron Park, on Monday filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court against the city, alleging the approval violated the California Outdoor Advertising Act and the federal Highway Beautification Act by engaging in “parcel zoning” rather than comprehensive zoning as required by those laws.
The lawsuit asks a judge to order the city to rescind the approval for the billboard, which has not yet been installed.
The legal filing additionally alleges a conflict of interest, as the nonprofit’s board president David Sander is also a councilmember who did not recuse himself from the vote.
“It is tantamount to a Judge hearing a case involving a business in which the Judge occupies an executive position,” the lawsuit said.
Nick Sosa, a city planner, told the council Oct. 6 that the city staff had determined the city had not violated those laws.
Ahead of the vote, Sander said the city attorney said he did not need to recuse himself because he does not receive any payment from the nonprofit. He also pointed out that other members have served in similar positions on the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce board, as well as boards of other community organizations.
“You start adding all these things together, and we’d be paralyzed as a body from acting,” Sander said.
Some of the slides on the new billboard will be available to the city or other nonprofits for advertising, Sander said.
The city of Rancho Cordova declined comment on the lawsuit because it does not comment on pending litigation, said Samantha Mott, a city spokesperson.
The lawsuit alleged the billboard will harm private companies because every new billboard “dilutes the pool of potential advertisers.”
“When a particular market participant is granted special consideration for placement of a sign structure that otherwise would not be granted, because a city or county prefers them ... an unfair business market is created through special privilege and speaker preference.”
Councilmember Joe Little argued the same point, likening the city’s approval of the billboard to “corruption.”
“We’re doing this because it’s the only way to do it to create special favors for friends,” Little, the City Council’s newest member who was elected in 2024, said during the Oct. 6 meeting, his dog in his lap.
The vote was 4-1, with Little voting against it.
The Cordova Community Council, located inside Rancho Cordova City Hall, runs the Mills Station Arts and Culture Center, organizes City Hall art exhibits, and created the Rancho Cordova Athletic Association, according to its website.
The city does not receive any revenue from the Cordova Community Council Foundation, according to Mott.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
