City Council approves amended billboard ordinance after prolonged debate

The Los Angeles City Council voted 8-3 on June 5, 2001, to approve an amended package of billboard regulations known as item 28 (revised “28 d” and associated amendments), directing further enforcement work and setting conditions for any future trade-off program that would permit some freeway-facing signs in exchange for takedowns of other signs.

The ordinance matters because it changes how the city will address thousands of off-site signs that community groups and officials have long called blight, while attempting to create a mechanism to fund enforcement and to give the council leverage to require removals. Council supporters said the amendments strike a practical balance between immediate removal of the worst signs and creating enforceable mechanisms to prevent future blight.

Councilman Ridley-Thomas led the effort to move the revised package forward as a locally negotiated compromise after weeks of committee work. Key amended elements approved by the council include a directive that billboard companies produce documentation showing valid permits for all of their billboards as a condition of participating…