St. Cloud council approves conditional agreement to replace several billboards with a single digital display

The St. Cloud City Council approved a voluntary billboard relocation agreement allowing Outfront Media to remove several older static billboards and install one back-to-back digital billboard at a site near Earl Bronson Highway.

Council members voted 5-0 to authorize the mayor to execute the agreement after the company’s representative, Chris Ashley of Outfront Media, described plans to remove five existing static billboard faces and install a new digital structure with guaranteed city messaging space. Ashley said the company will pay all capital, installation and maintenance costs and provide the city with free community-message rotations and guaranteed placements, including rotation priority equivalent to eight guaranteed spots per year.

The council’s approval was conditional: staff must resolve conflicts between the proposed billboard’s dimensions and terms and the property’s existing Planned Unit Development (PUD) restrictions before the agreement is finalized. City staff and several council members flagged specific conflicts, including a PUD height cap of 35 feet versus the sign’s proposed 50-foot maximum, different setback requirements (PUD 25 feet vs. agreement 5 feet), and PUD limits on freestanding signage. Tisha Manning, interim director for community development, told council those technical inconsistencies need to be reconciled before construction is permitted.

Mayor Robertson said the digital sign would improve the city’s public-notification capacity and help with emergency alerts like Amber Alerts and hurricane messaging. Ashley emphasized the emergency and community benefits during his presentation, noting automated dimming for nighttime illumination and ambient-light monitoring to meet light-level requirements. "We will remove five existing static billboard faces within the city and provide community messaging at no cost," Ashley said during the presentation.

Council members sought legal and technical assurances. The city attorney and staff discussed indemnity language and whether the agreement could or should supersede zoning provisions; the agreement contains indemnification for the operator should it be challenged. Property owner Billy Rocker, whose land is part of the proposal, said Outfront would only proceed if the economics and approvals aligned and described his prior work with the company.

After discussion the mayor moved to approve the agreement as presented, subject to staff resolving PUD/zoning conflicts and a correction to a contract typo in the quarterly-notification clause. Council Member Fletcher seconded the motion and the roll-call vote was 5-0 in favor.

What happens next: staff were directed to work with the applicant and the property owner to reconcile PUD conditions and technical sign standards. If the outstanding zoning/permit issues cannot be resolved, the agreement would not proceed and the existing billboards could remain, council members noted. The resolution approved tonight authorizes the mayor to execute the agreement once the noted items are addressed.