Wednesday, September 12, 2007
GRAND RAPIDS -- City motorists will not be distracted by videos or flashing messages on local billboards anytime soon, thanks to a three-month moratorium imposed by city commissioners Tuesday.
The ban came at the request of City Planning Director Suzanne Schulz, who warned that the city's 1969 zoning ordinance was powerless to stop billboard companies from installing high-tech billboards that could distract motorists by projecting high-quality video images.
The moratorium gives city commissioners time to adopt a zoning ordinance that will restrict the video billboards, Schulz said.
The city has no video billboards along its streets and highways now, but Schulz said they are showing up elsewhere in Michigan, including smaller cities such as Traverse City.
Schulz said the ban was not designed to limit free speech. Instead, it is meant to balance the public's right to be free of signs that distract drivers and pedestrians and cause confusion.
Ban only for 'off-premise' signs
The latest ban affects only "off-premise" signs, such as billboards. Last year, the City Commission adopted an ordinance governing electronic "on-premise" business signs.
Though the automated signs are banned in residential neighborhoods, churches and schools are allowed to install them if they get Planning Commission approval.
Source: By Jim Harger -The Grand Rapids Press
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