Bernson Offers Billboard Law but Critic Calls It a Dilution

Legislation that would restrict the placement of new billboards throughout Los Angeles was proposed Tuesday by City Councilman Hal Bernson amid charges that it is an effort to provide a weaker substitute for a proposal to ban new billboards from Ventura Boulevard in Encino.

Bernson proposed that the City Council adopt a law similar to a 1973 county measure which establishes standards for billboards such as height, size, distance from each other and distance from homes. His proposal was sent to the council’s Planning and Environment Committee, which will hold a hearing and make a recommendation to the full council.

Bernson Seeks ‘Balance’

Bernson, who represents the northwest San Fernando Valley, said he introduced his proposal to provide a “balance between the legitimate needs of businesses and those who are concerned with the aesthetics of the city.”

However, Ben Reznik, an attorney who is backing proposed legislation to restrict all types of signs along Ventura Boulevard in Encino, contended that Bernson’s proposal was introduced at the behest of the billboard industry in an effort to head off possible council adoption of the more restrictive measure.

That measure would, among other things, ban all new billboards along Ventura Boulevard in Encino. The 37 existing billboards along a 3 1/2-mile stretch of Ventura would remain because a 1982 state law requiring cities to reimburse billboard companies for removal of signs would make doing so too costly, said Councilman Marvin Braude’s chief deputy, Cindy Miscikowski.

Lobbying Expected

Braude, who represents Encino, said Bernson’s proposal could be “used as an excuse not to proceed with more vigorous control of signs.” Braude noted that the billboard industry, which is a major contributor to the campaigns of council members, successfully lobbied to kill a sign control measure in 1975.

Bernson said he spoke to a billboard company executive about his proposal, but insisted the legislation was his idea. He said it grew out of a problem in his district in which a billboard company proposed putting up a sign where it could be seen out the front windows of homes. He said the company agreed to move the sign at his request, but that there was no city law that would have required them to do so.

Bernson said his proposal would not preclude the council’s adopting stricter controls on billboards for different parts of town. Bernson said he has yet to take a stand on Braude’s proposal for signs on Ventura in Encino.