Madison Supes reject electronic billboard ban

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

An attempt to ban digital billboards in the county was denied yesterday by the Board of Supervisors.District 1 Supervisor Doug Jones introduced an ordinance in the county that would have universally prohibited electronic digital billboards from all existing and future billboard locations.District 3 Supervisor Tim Johnson, who received a campaign donation from an association comprised in part of companies that make digital billboards, led the opposition to Jones' proposed ordinance.The ordinance failed on a 3-2 vote, with Board President and District 3 Supervisor Andy Taggart voting with Jones.The ordinance would have been part of a general update to county ordinances, which the county authorized to publicly advertise by a 5-0 vote.Jones said that he proposed the ordinance because of the distraction these billboards cause to drivers."They are a distraction to traffic, because of the messages that they give are so brilliant in color and can change very often, and could be a distraction to the operator of a vehicle," Jones said.He said that besides safety concerns, the quality of life is diminished in neighborhoods located near these billboards."Where those signs are located next to a residential area, it literally changes the lighting and the colors in and around people's houses," said Jones. "If they're cooking outside, their backyards change colors and brightness with the changes in the billboards."Jones said that after speaking with Madison Alderman-at-Large Lisa Clingan-Smith, he drafted an ordinance to prohibit the billboards in the county.Pending an appeal, Madison is set to annex portions of what is currently unincorporated land in the county.Clingan-Smith said that while Madison's ordinances prohibit any billboards in city limits, she was concerned about the new digital billboards in Jackson and Ridgeland."My concern was for the annexed area, as well as for the county," said Clingan-Smith, who said that her phone call to Jones about the issue was "a courtesy call."Ridgeland currently has two operating digital billboards. One is along County Line Road and another one is on the west side of U.S. 51 just north of Interstate 55.According to Mayor Gene McGee, the city is currently considering a request by Lamar Advertising to build three new digital billboards within the city.In return, McGee said that the city, which prefers to have no billboards in its limits, might request that Lamar concurrently remove existing billboard structures to compensate for the new digital billboards."They're requesting three, and we haven't granted that yet," said McGee.Jones' ordinance was defeated after concerns were raised by Johnson about a blanket prohibition of the ordinance."The bottom line is, I like the digital billboards. I like the way they look," said Johnson on Tuesday.According to a campaign finance report filed with Circuit Clerk Lee Westbrook's office, Johnson received a $680 campaign donation from the Outdoor Advertising Association of Mississippi, based in Jackson.Watkins Ludlam Winter and Stennis attorney Mark Herbert, who practices law in the outdoor advertising area, said that this association is a state chapter of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.This latter association, Herbert said, is in favor of digital billboards where appropriate."Generically, as an industry, they do support that," said Herbert.Herbert represents Lamar Advertising, which is a member of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Mississippi.Johnson denied that his decision was based on the donation by the advertising association to his campaign. He called any accusations of influence peddling "cheap" and "pretty petty.""That's a bunch of bull crap. That's the way you do business. You have to raise money to run your campaign," said Johnson, who is running unopposed in this year's election.
Related Links

Source: Madison County Journal, Madison, Mississippi