Board delays settlement with Contest Promotions over billboard dispute, schedules closed session

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 10–1 to continue discussion of Item 10, a proposed $375,000 settlement with Contest Promotions, and to schedule a closed session with the city attorney before taking final action.

The item authorizes settlement of a lawsuit filed by Contest Promotions in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and supervisors debated whether the legal and planning ramifications of the settlement needed further review. "The voters of San Francisco have spoken ... they do not want new billboards in San Francisco," Supervisor Wiener said, arguing for more time to understand the settlement’s implications. "I'm not prepared to support this today," he said, moving to continue the item for two weeks and to schedule a closed session the week prior.

Deputy City Attorney John Gibner told the board that either approach would work procedurally: "Either way, really, you could ... have the closed session on the same day, and then you could come out and vote on the item after the closed session. Or we could have the closed session next week and the item the following week, giving you a week's space between the two." The board voted to continue the item and to hold the closed session; Supervisor Tang cast the lone no vote.

Supporters of continuing the item said the settlement could set a precedent affecting future billboard enforcement and compliance; opponents of a delay said questions raised in rules committee and by the city attorney had already answered many concerns. Supervisor Campos seconded the motion to continue.

The action does not approve or reject the settlement; it postpones any final vote until after the closed-session legal briefing and the board’s next meeting on June 17. The lawsuit at issue was filed on Sept. 22, 2009, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.