Good and bad news about billboards in Los Angeles
The good news: The Los Angeles City Council passed a 6 month moratorium in November '00 prohibiting any new billboards from going up in
our city.
The bad news: In December '00, the City Council, by a 9 to 4 vote, approved 7 new billboards in the Pico/La Brea area despite the earlier moratorium.
The good news: According to the current L.A. City Municipal Code, it is illegal to put billboards on our freeways. Our freeways have been free of billboards for over 50 years.
The bad news: A motion was proposed in City Council in November '00 to consider legislation called the Billboard Reduction (or Relocation) Ordinance (CF002254)
which will allow the billboard industry to construct 78 new double-sided giant billboards (800 sq. ft.) along our freeways. In return for constructing these billboards, the billboard
industry will remove 780 much smaller billboards within the city (ranging from 55 sq. ft. to 230 sq. ft.). The billboard industry will select the ones to be removed.
Even more bad news: A Sign
Review Task Force* has been established and is currently meeting to review the methodology to implement this proposal. The majority of the members are "friends" of billboards.If you want to
stop the increased construction of giant billboards, you can have a voice!
e-mail your City Councilmember and tell them that YOU DO NOT WANT billboards lining our freeways.
Urge all of City Council to oppose the misleading "Billboard Relocation Ordinance" and any other proposal that will increase the number of billboards in our city.
Attend the Sign Review Task Force meetings and tell them your concerns.
Share this information with your friends and neighbors. Ask them to join in this effort to stop the continuation of visual blight in Los Angeles.
Without your action, this legislation will go through!
The good news is that YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
* Date, time and place of the next Task Force meeting has not been scheduled.
For more information call Ted Wu (310) 474-1711,
Citizens to "Ban Billboard Blight" |
