CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES
A judge has formally invalidated a 2006 settlement between the city of Los Angeles and two companies, CBS Outdoor and Clear Channel Outdoor, that granted them special rights to convert as many as 840 billboards to digital format, among other changes.
The settlement was negotiated by former City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo after the two companies sued the city over its billboard regulations. Another billboard company, Summit Media, challenged the settlement last year, arguing that it was illegal because the city allowed the companies to make sign changes barred under city law.
In a written ruling this week, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green said he agreed with Summit. He found that the city acted beyond the scope of its authority when it allowed the two companies to convert their conventional wood-and-vinyl signs to the bright digital signs that have infuriated neighborhood groups and prompted complaints from drivers.
-- Maeve Reston
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