Sign code shakedown: sign code under attack from billboard companies
From Cyburbian Rambler: Growing up and being educated in Virginia, outdoor advertising was almost non-existent in most areas. Only now do I understand how much this attributed to the beauty of its natural landscape. After moving to Atlanta, one of the first things I noticed while driving in was the endless number of billboards dotting the highways. Having never seen them in this density before, I was saddened at how much impact they had while traveling through Tennessee and Georgia.
Now, while working as a planner in Cobb County, just NE of Atlanta, it feels like we are under attack. The City of Marietta recently lost a lawsuit with Lamar Advertising, in which Lamar's lawyers specifically attacked the entire sign ordinance on the wording of one provision. The City followed by passing a moratorium on all sign permits, however Lamar will be able to put up the billboard from the lawsuit: a brand new LED billboard that will now distract some of the nuttiest drivers I've ever seen. This is the news article covering the resolution:
http://www.mdjonline.com/content/index/showcontentitem/area/1/section/21
To make matters worse, it appears the state has been lobbied heavily by sign companies. Most local jurisdictions have passed or are passing new sign ordinance provisions limiting or prohibiting billboards completely. The response by the state is HB 1318, which is documented in this article:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/03/05/billboards_030
Most of my research indicates this is happening elsewhere in Metro Atlanta, but more importantly this is a confirmed nationwide effort on the efforts of the sign companies and their lawyer staff. Does anyone else have similar experience?
I apologize for the lengthy post, but this has me extremely upset with the situation. Being in a public staff position, I feel a bit limited with how vocal I can be. I hope some of you may be able to provide advice or at least make us feel like we're not alone.
Thanks.
Welcome to my world. The "outdoor advertising" industry has a strong lobby in Florida and is deep into the pockets of politicians in Tallahassee. Lamar is the 800-lb gorilla of the industry. I'll try and post links to the FL administrative code when I get to work tomorrow. Some of the crap adopted at the state level is disgusting including requirements of FDOT staff to trim vegetation insuring the visibility of billboards. Unbelievable. I spit on their graves.
Thank you both for the responses, that is very encouraging.
This was good advice, not only did I email the local state representative, I checked out Scenic America's website - what a fantastic resource for information! Oh, and the local representative? He is the freaking sponsor of the billboard bill in my second link. At the moment, I received a response saying he only had time to explain issues with his constituents. Not sure where he got that impression, but I'm awaiting a reply to my response. I'm expecting to get shrugged off.
The Sign Code Shakedown. There's an article about it in the PlanningWiki.
In Ohio we have started to see this. I have heard of billboard company lawyers going to smaller Townships and trying to get sign codes thrown out so they can put up billboards in the time it takes to update their code. We recently updated our code to make sure this would not happen to us. A week or two ago we had someone come in looking into just that topic.....
I recalled a case a few years ago (ISTR that it was in Michigan) where the DOT, upon finding such illegal cutting, posted a sign on the public ROW saying (to the effect): "THESE TREES WERE ILLEGALLY CUT/Michigan Department of Transportation".
Mike.
Yeah, apparently the profits in these billboards are very high. Its depressing to see how much lobbying power the billboard companies have. They like to point out their right to make money off of a piece of property, but what about the public's right to a view uncluttered with visual blight? The problem is, aesthetic values are difficult to quantify, especially in monetary terms. Its difficult to demonstrate positive social effects of view preservation. When I was with the DOT in NJ, they used to cut down or top off tree that had been planted in the right-of-way in order to create clear views to bilboards which were outside the ROW. You might want to look into groups like Scenic America that have fought billboard proliferation. Write to companies (as a private citizen) that advertise on billboards to state your opposition and campaign to get others to do the same.