Freeway Billboard Foes Win Again in Anaheim : Advertising: For the fourth time in 9 years, council votes against removing ban on the signs, which the city has had for 23 years.

Opponents of freeway billboards celebrated Wednesday after the City Council declined for the fourth time in nine years to pass an ordinance that would have overturned the city’s 23-year-old ban on the signs.

Former Councilwoman Miriam Kaywood, a longtime and outspoken opponent of freeway billboards, said the council’s 4-1 vote against overturning the ban can be attributed to the 100 billboard opponents who turned out at Tuesday’s meeting.

“We had speakers from the Visitors and Convention Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, Disneyland and residents,” Kaywood said. “We showed that no one in Anaheim is in favor of freeway billboards except those who would benefit monetarily.”

Disneyland Vice President Ron Dominguez said the theme park’s management opposes freeway billboards in Anaheim because “we are in an urban area and billboards add to the clutter and lessen the appearance of the area.”

The proposal by Councilman Irv Pickler would have allowed billboard companies to apply to the city for permission to erect signs in industrial areas along freeways. Each sign would have required a council-approved city permit.

“You win some, you lose some,” Pickler said Wednesday. “We were not approving any billboards, we were just leaving open the possibility” that some could be built.

One difference in this attempt to overturn the ban was that no billboard company publicly lobbied the council and Pickler said none was working behind the scenes.

In previous attempts in 1985, 1988 and earlier this year, Regency Outdoor Advertising Inc., a Los Angeles firm, had pushed for the ban to be overturned. The first two attempts to overturn the ban were rejected by the council, and last January, Regency withdrew its proposal just hours before it was scheduled for a council vote.

A Times Orange County Edition computer search of campaign finance reports filed with the city clerk showed that Regency, other billboard firms, their trade groups and employees had donated more than $70,000 to Anaheim council and mayoral candidates since 1984.

Pickler said he doubts there will be a fifth attempt to overturn the ban. Kaywood said she hopes he is right.

“Every time they bring this up they waste the time of the city staff writing ordinances and reports for what is an exercise in futility,” Kaywood said.