POWAY - The City Council approved a new sign ordinance Tuesday that bans the use of "human" or moving signs for advertising in Poway.

Council members voted 5-0 in favor of the ban even though they acknowledged it will eliminate their own right to stand and wave while holding signs on city streets during any re-election campaigns they might launch.

"In looking at it and discussing it with the city attorney, there's really nothing we can do about that," Councilman Bob Emery said. "It has to be absolute. … You can't reserve it to one or the other (group of people)."

He and other council members said they believe the ban is necessary for public safety reasons and because it will keep city streets looking good.

The revision was a response to a recent court ruling on a lawsuit that Liberty Tax Service filed against the city last year. The move came after city code enforcement officers cited the business for sending costumed employees to wave at drivers passing by Liberty's office at 13555 Midland Road.

The court found that people dressed in costumes and trying to draw attention to a business could not be considered signs under the city's old sign ordinance. The revised ordinance includes language designed to clarify the definition of "sign."

Resident and former council candidate Nick Stavros told the council he believed that banning human or moving signs infringes on people's free-speech right. Council members countered by describing moving signs as a distraction to drivers.