Judge to Invalidate L.A.’s Digital-sign Settlement

On Friday, October 30, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green said he plans to invalidate a 2006 settlement between the city of Los Angeles and CBS Outdoor and Clear Channel Outdoor that allowed them to convert 840 conventional billboards to a digital format. A rival billboard company, Summit Media, contends officials acted beyond the scope of their authority by granting the two other companies the rights to modernize their billboards while other companies weren’t allowed to do so.
Former city attorney Rocky Delgadillo had negotiated an agreement with the two companies after they sued the city over its 2002 billboard regulations. Digital signs soon proliferated, and homeowner groups objected. The city council passed a temporary sign moratorium and banned digital billboards in August.
Judge Green said, on Friday, he agreed with Summit Media’s argument in its lawsuit against the city over the settlement agreement. He is still weighing whether he will void the permits for the 101 signs that were digitized after the settlement or nullify the agreement and allow citizens to challenge individual signs.