Airport asks to table Clear Channel advertising amendment amid alcohol‑ad ban concerns

Item 3 would have approved Amendment No. 3 to Clear Channel Outdoor Inc.’s lease for the San Francisco International Airport advertising program. Airport representative Kathy Weidner told the committee the airport had requested the item be tabled while it reconsidered revenue alternatives and ensured the amendment aligns with existing advertising restrictions.

Supervisor questioning focused on whether a local ban on alcohol advertising (referred to on the record as "section 4.2") applies to new or amended airport advertising contracts entered or materially amended after the ordinance’s effective date in January 2009. Weidner said the airport contract currently prohibits alcohol advertising or, where it does not specifically prohibit it, requires approval by the airport design and review committee, which would not approve alcohol ads in those cases.

Public commenter Peter Fortune, representing San Francisco Beautiful, urged the committee to honor repeated ballot votes that the public cast against new general advertising signs, saying: "This flies flatly in the face of what your constituents have voted against every time." After public comment the committee voted to table the amendment; the chair announced the item was tabled "with an objection" and would not be discussed further that day.