Proposed Ban on Aerial Ads Called Questionable

Banning aerial advertising along the county’s beaches would be constitutionally questionable and tough to justify in court, according to a county report to be delivered next week to the Beach Advisory Committee.

The advisory group to the county Board of Supervisors began considering a ban on the banners in June after receiving a complaint from a Hermosa Beach resident, Jim Lissner, who called the flying billboards a nuisance to beach-goers.

Ted Reed, director of the county Department of Beaches and Harbors, said in his report that it is questionable whether coastal cities have jurisdiction over the airways above the beaches. Any ordinance restricting the banner ads would surely be challenged in court, he said. The advisory committee will receive the report and take public testimony on the issue next Wednesday.