Last Residential Billboards Will Fall by ’95
The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to remove the last nine billboards situated in residential neighborhoods. But the signs will not be coming down until 1995.
Removal of two billboards in Golden Hill and seven in Southeast San Diego was approved on a 5-3 vote.
State law, however, in order to ease the revenue loss, gives the sign companies up to seven years to remove the billboards.
Under a city ordinance approved last year, residential billboards cannot be relocated to commercial or industrial areas. Since 1983, companies have been forbidden from installing new billboards or relocating present signs.
Even with the seven-year time lag, advertising industry representatives said they will lose money by destroying the billboards. “Seven years from now, they’re just as valuable as they are today,” said Ron Beals, attorney for the San Diego Outdoor Advertising Task Force. “In fact, they’ll be more valuable because of the restrictive San Diego ordinance.”
The vote came after the council defeated a motion by District 4 Councilman Wes Pratt, who represents Southeast San Diego, to allow owners to relocate any billboards within commercial or industrial locations.
There are about 1,100 billboards in the city.
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