City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo is facing opposition from Los Angeles beautification advocates for having pushed a lawsuit settlement that could allow hundreds of new and existing illegal billboards to get permits.
Critics question Delgadillo's impartiality in negotiating the deal because sign companies donated $424,000 worth of billboard space to support his first election in 2001. And the firms have since contributed thousands more to him and some of the City Council members who must approve or reject the settlement.
"Rocky was elected in part because of the billboard advertisements," said Joyce Foster, chairwoman of the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission. "This settlement is terrible for the city, but it sounds like a fabulous deal for the billboard companies."
Faced with mounting criticism of the terms, which the council has tentatively approved, Delgadillo is attempting to negotiate additional concessions from billboard companies, including stricter limits on the number of new signs.
Delgadillo said in a statement that the council and the mayor would ultimately decide whether to settle the suit.
"But I believe that the most positive aspects of the proposed settlements are that we will be increasing public safety by ensuring the structural integrity of L.A. billboard signs, a large number of billboards will be removed, and we are establishing a first-of-its-kind comprehensive billboard inventory and inspection program to enable us to better monitor our city's billboards," Delgadillo said.
"And these critical reforms will be implemented immediately, without the specter of continuing protracted litigation," he added.
Delgadillo spokesman Nick Velasquez said the unsolicited independent expenditures received from sign companies are not relevant. He said that Delgadillo has always "aggressively defended" the city's regulation of the industry.
Foster and others question why Delgadillo is pushing to settle the lawsuit -- brought by Clear Channel Outdoor and CBS Outdoor -- when the city has already won major victories over the companies in court.
"Delgadillo has a history of being very lenient on the billboard industry and doing nothing," said Ted Wu, founder of L.A.'s Citizens to Ban Billboards and Blight. "Instead of settling, they should enforce the law."
At issue is an ordinance adopted by the City Council in February 2002 to begin an inspection and enforcement program aimed at regulating more than 10,000 billboards in Los Angeles. The ads on the billboards generate more than $1 billion a year for their owners.
