Electronic billboards face freeze

The Kenton County Planning Commission on Tuesday will review a request calling for a moratorium through the rest of the year on the installation of all electronic message boards in the county.
The measure would apply to the zoning ordinances of all Kenton County jurisdictions.
The amendment comes in response to ongoing questions about the legality of electronic billboards along Northern Kentucky highways, particularly two in Covington. Those billboards, along Interstate 71/75, have been deemed illegal by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for a very simple reason: state law prohibits them on all highways in the state.
The request for a moratorium came from the planning commission staff, which is upgrading all sign regulations, said Mike Schwartz, the commission's deputy director for current planning.
"We hired an expert consultant to assist us in that effort," he said.
Schwartz said the updated regulations are likely to affect electronic signs, and the moratorium will assure that new signs are erected under new regulations.
Meanwhile, Covington has launched its own challenge to electronic signs in response to a wave of resident complaints when the second electronic billboard in the city lit up near the interstate in May. Last year the first static billboard was converted to an electronic one near the 12th street interchange in Covington.
"Basically, they're a big LCD television. They change every 8 to 10 seconds or so," said City Manager Jay Fossett. He said residents' concerns include the brightness and the danger posed by driver distraction.
The city's prime concern, said Fossett, is a zoning issue.
Static billboards were grandfathered in, which means they were there before the zoning regulations were enacted. "By changing from a static billboard to an electronic one, they are changing the use," Fossett said. "They're a non-conforming use."
The city isn't trying to get rid of the billboards altogether, said Fossett, just return them to their original static signs. "We want to have a hearing and have a judge rule are they conforming or not conforming," Fossett said.
Covington code enforcement officials met July 28 to discuss the issue but said recently no decision would be made until Sept. 12. Until then, the billboards stay up and continue to shine.
The proposed planning commission amendment would stop the debate where it is, meaning no additional electric signs could be erected in the county until a final decision is made about their legality. It would apply to message boards, changeable copy signs, electronic message boards and tri-vision signs. It also would prohibit owners of a current non-electronic board from converting one.
Electronic billboards are legal in Ohio but with restrictions: Screen changes must be no quicker than every eight seconds and fade in and out so as to not create a vision distraction.

Source: The Kentucky Post