One Thursday, March 26, the Los Angeles Planning Commission agreed on a new, stricter version of the city’s billboard law that will now go to the city council for a vote, according to Erik Sass’ article in Media Post’s Digital Outsider. The proposed revision will prohibit the introduction of new digital billboards except for 21 special “sign districts” around the city. The law also restricts supergraphics.
The vote followed a 4-3 deadlock; opponents argued the proposed revision wasn’t strict enough. Warnings that the provision to allow digital billboards in special sign districts will open the law to court challenges were overruled, 6-3, with the additional votes of commissioners who weren’t present the week before.
Originally passed in 2002, the law being revised addressed new billboard advertising around the city, but has faced many legal challenges since then on First Amendment grounds. This led to a 2006 legal settlement with CBS Outdoor and Clear Channel outdoor that allowed the companies to install 800 new digital signs in return for not challenging the law’s constitutionality. This compromise was opposed by both OOH opponents, who said it rendered the law ineffective, and smaller OOH companies, who were excluded.
In October 2008, residents of L.A.’s Silver Lake neighborhood protested Clear Channel’s conversion of a traditional billboard to a digital display. Also, several OOH advertising companies that specialize in supergraphics have challenged the law’s constitutionality, pointing out that loopholes allow the city itself to use the same kind of advertising.
A decision to allow councilors to determine if new signage would complement the neighborhood’s specific “theme or character” may also attract future challenges. Also, numerous public hearings before the city planning commission will help determine the sign-worthy neighborhoods.