Moratorium extended on digital signs in L.A.

On December 17, 2008 Los Angeles enacted a ban on digital billboards and supergraphics. Today I found out that they extended the ban on Tuesday for 45 more days, pledging to adopt tougher penalties for illegal signs. It appears that the ban will continue to be in effect until at least late March in order to give the city more time to update the city’s sign ordinance. The original moratorium, which was set to expire on March 26, was approved in December following a citizen uproar over a flurry of new digital billboards and supergraphics, especially on the Westside, Hollywood and parts of the San Fernando Valley as well as years of court challenges and political maneuvering that have undermined existing billboard regulations. Council members said city staff needed more time to craft regulations that could withstand court challenges from the sign industry, which has been successful in the past in blocking stricter regulation.

Since the moratorium was passed, several new billboards and supergraphics have appeared, some of which have been taken down after protests from residents and city officials. Last week, the city Planning Commission delayed a vote on a new ordinance for a month to give neighborhood groups, merchants and the sign industry more time to comment. That prompted the council to extend the moratorium until May 10.

"The ICO [Interim Control Ordinance] will expire on March 26, 2009, but the legislative process to approve changes to the City’s sign ordinances may not be completed by March 26. If the ICO is allowed to lapse for even one day, "a flurry of illegal signs could be installed and be nearly impossible to remove later," stressed a statement from Councilman Jack Weiss' office. According to the Los Angeles daily news, there should be twenty inspectors working full time on the inventory. Councilman Bill Rosendahl said that once the inventory is complete, a new sign ordinance should be passed that imposes heavy fines on companies that erect illegal or non-permitted billboards.

Councilman Jack Weiss said the report is overdue.

"Make no mistake: This city is suffering under an onslaught - not just from billboards, but the supergraphics that are wrapping themselves around tall buildings," Weiss said. "The architecture of this city is devolving into advertising."

Councilman Dennis Zine suggested considering use of the Community Redevelopment Agency to pressure landlords in redevelopment areas - particularly in downtown and Hollywood - to refuse to allow their buildings to be used for the massive signs. Council President Eric Garcetti, whose district includes Hollywood, said he has worked to close loopholes in development agreements that allowed the signs to proliferate.

A number of developers and business representatives urged the council not to adopt the moratorium, especially on the vinyl super-graphics that stretch across sides of buildings, arguing that the income from those ads was critical to their bottom line. In 2002, officials approved a ban on outdoor advertising and sought to inspect and create an inventory of all the billboards in the city. At the time, the department of building and safety estimated there were 10,000 billboards in Los Angeles – with an undetermined number of them lacking permits and illegal.

Clear Channel Outdoor and CBS Outdoor, two of the largest billboard companies in the city, filed suit, arguing that the restrictions were in part an infringement on their 1st Amendment rights. In 2006, they reached a settlement with Delgadillo – later approved by the council and Villaraigosa – that allowed 840 of their billboards to be “modernized” and upgraded to digital displays. The city thus far has issued permits allowing 95 billboards to be converted to digital displays. Those settlements have since been criticized as a giveaway to the billboard companies and for undercutting the city’s attempt to restrict digital billboards proposed by other outdoor advertising companies.

It appears that the council will have another fight on it's hands soon. Clear Channel Outdoor warned the council before the vote that it might take legal action to block the ban. Given the litigious history of the billboard companies in Los Angeles – the city faces more than 25 lawsuits filed by outdoor advertising companies challenging restrictions on the signs – city officials said they expected a court challenge.

You can find more information on this story by clicking these links:
LA Times
Laist
The Digital Outsider
Add Tech

Thanks for reading!
Gwynn~