How routine are billboard variances?

[patric]

Im trying to remember the last time I saw a Board of Adjustment agenda where one billboard company or another wasnt asking for a variance for their signs, to make them larger or closer together etc.

I dont make all the BOA meetings so Im wondering if these variances are granted as routinely as they are asked for?
If so, what's the point in having an ordinance?

[PonderInc]

I had the same concern...then I realized that I had mis-read the BOA agenda.  These are "verifications" not variances.  They are just confirming that their spacing is correct (with a certified survey) and meets the zoning requirement for spacing.

[Rico]

I would imagine the "recent flurry" of activity in Billboards is out of concern that the "New Master Plan" will address the issue in a more straight forward fashion than it currently does.

There is a lot of money behind those boards.

Why else would the "Big Bopper" be batting for them.?

[cannon_fodder]

A bit off topic, but fwiw the new digital bill boards look very nice.  Much better than pealing/stuck billboards.  The limits on flashiness and motion are well placed though.

Not comment on the brightness as I haven't given them much attention at night.

[sgrizzle]

Did anyone notice that GK and friends gave the city money to assist in enforcing ROW signage as well as billboards and other permanent signage? i expect a change in attitude towards strict enforcement.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

I had the same concern...then I realized that I had mis-read the BOA agenda.  These are "verifications" not variances.

There are verifications, but also a number of variances as well:

20828 – Sam Stokely
10810 East 45th Street South (Variance of the spacing requirement for an outdoor advertising sign from another outdoor advertising sign on the same side of the highway, Section 1221.F.2)

20835 – James Adair
Variance of the maximum display surface area permitted in an OH district (Section 602.B.4.c); and a Variance of the setback requirement for a sign visible from an R district (Section 602.B.4.d) to permit a wall sign.

etc.  Some meetings sign variances seem to outnumber other items on the agenda.  Just wondering.

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

A bit off topic, but fwiw the new digital bill boards look very nice.  Much better than pealing/stuck billboards.  The limits on flashiness and motion are well placed though.

Not comment on the brightness as I haven't given them much attention at night.

Im glad some city planners took it to heart.  Even though the new councilors watered down their recommendations, some regulation was better than none.  The alternative was casino-like video screens along our expressways and neighborhoods.

The regulated LED billboards also do a better job of controlling their light output, compared to the old floodlit ones that dont do a very good job if hitting the target:


I got a chuckle at a couple LED Billboards Lamar put along 44 at the edge of the Clear Channel building, seeing as how they are major billboard competitors in other markets. [B)] But I notice on dark days they dont reduce their brightness as they are supposed to.

[PonderInc]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

A bit off topic, but fwiw the new digital bill boards look very nice.  Much better than pealing/stuck billboards.  The limits on flashiness and motion are well placed though.

Not comment on the brightness as I haven't given them much attention at night.

I have to say, I'm not a fan.  Too bright for me.  The nice thing about "normal" billboards is that many of them are not lit...and thus, they disappear at night. (The best billboard is one that doesn't exist...) Even those that are lit, aren't that bright.  

The electronic billboards seem too bright to me.  The one north of downtown on 244 is glaringly obvious from 1st and Main.  (It's the first time I've ever noticed a billboard on the highway when I'm walking downtown!)

Is there any way to measure the brightness of a billboard (aside from believing the Lamar corporation when they say it meets our requirements)?

[Gaspar]

Very subjective.  We are on the tail end of this trend.  It's wise to look at ordinances in other more established communities and build our requirements off of those.  I am a fan of advertising, but not a fan of anything invasive or dangerous.  We need to stand on the shoulders of giants for this one.

[nathanm]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

A bit off topic, but fwiw the new digital bill boards look very nice.  Much better than pealing/stuck billboards.  The limits on flashiness and motion are well placed though.

Not comment on the brightness as I haven't given them much attention at night.

I have to say, I'm not a fan.  Too bright for me.  The nice thing about "normal" billboards is that many of them are not lit...and thus, they disappear at night. (The best billboard is one that doesn't exist...) Even those that are lit, aren't that bright.  

I agree that they're far too bright at night. To the point of nearly causing night blindness.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

i guess my point is, it doesn't matter how much they dim the LEDs, if they switch from a dark add to an ad with an all white background (and I have started seeing more and more of those all white ads) it is like suddenly turning on a spotlight that wasn't there and your eyes can't adjust fast enough.

I had been reading the notes on a LED billboard ordinance for Las Cruces NM where the language includes "No designs that have white backgrounds, in order to reduce glare."
That should have been included in our ordinance, but we may have to cycle through a couple of billboard-friendly councilors before we can make such refinements.

I also thought it a bit of a vindication that the NM ordinance authors liked Tulsa's original LED billboard proposal enough to want to include parts of it in theirs.

Wow, Tulsa being used as the good example.
That's a switch.

[cannon_fodder]

If they are too bright/we don't want white backgrounds at night... by all means petition the city to amend the ordinance.  That's the beauty of LED billboards, they can be changed instantly.

The LED billboards themselves are not the problem.  They look far superior to most regular billboards.  If they emit too much light at night, that is a separate issue.

Any does anyone else read a criticism from Inteller and just roll their eyes?  Sorry man, your negative on everything so it has lost any meaning.  "I won $500 Billion in the lotto... but the government will take half in taxes anyway."

[PonderInc]

I've never understood why local politicians never stand up to billboard companies.  Driving down the highways/interstates, you'll notice that 95% or more of our billboards belong to the Lamar corp of Baton Rouge, LA (the largest billboard company in the nation with over $1 billion in revenues last year).

Why do we let these guys trash our landscape?  We tell homeowners that they can't park cars in their yards, but we allow multi-million dollar companies to spread visual garbage along our public right of ways.

In the case of digital billboards, if I recall correctly, the TMAPC recommended that each image remain in place for 12 seconds, and the billboards should be spaced no closer than 2,400 feet.

When it went to the City Council last spring, the council ignored these recommendations and shortened the duration to 8 seconds and the spacing to 1,200.

Why?

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

When it went to the City Council last spring, the council ignored these recommendations and shortened the duration to 8 seconds and the spacing to 1,200.
Why?

Some "business friendly" council candidates got funding and endorsements?
(the other shoe teeters...)

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

and you happen to have the same name as one of those turds.

He spells his wrong. [)]

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

If they are too bright/we don't want white backgrounds at night... by all means petition the city to amend the ordinance.  That's the beauty of LED billboards, they can be changed instantly.

Interesting we think of LED billboard brightness as a nuisance and hazard to motorists, but at least one community is addressing the hazard it represents to aircraft:

Digital distractions: Bossier planners set to ban LED Billboards from BAFB flight path

The signs are changing - from metal, wood and vinyl - to high-tech electronic advertising. But as digital billboards become more popular, their brightness has become a safety issue for Barksdale Air Force Base.

Because of their bright lights, they could be a distraction for pilots flying in and out of the base. Especially in what's known as "the North approach zone," an area that covers parts of some major Bossier City thoroughfares, including Industrial drive and East Texas Street. "They feel that these digital billboards are a hazard in that one particular area, says Bossier Metropolitan Planning Commission Director Sam Marsiglia.

While the MPC's recent efforts to ban new billboards in parts of the city are based mostly on aesthetics, Marsiglia says these restrictions are driven by concerns about safety. "The last few years, protecting Barksdale Air Force Base and their ability to train their pilots and night-training is a very important part of what they do. We're doing everything they can to protect the base's mission and the integrity of that base and keeping it here."

Base officials also want to require that lights on new billboards illuminate from the top down, instead of the bottom up, the way they do now. the changes are part of a proposed ordinance banning new billboards in the city. The MPC will vote on that ordinance at it's next meeting, coming up on March 9th.