L.A. approves 3-month moratorium on billboards

The temporary ban comes after years of court challenges and political maneuvering that have undermined existing billboard regulations. Dozens of new bright digital billboards have popped up around Los Angeles, with hundreds more likely to come. The proliferation has outraged residents of many city neighborhoods.

The moratorium is intended to give the city time to craft a permanent and coherent billboard policy -- or even consider an outright ban on the signs -- that could affect all aspects of outdoor advertising in the city, from roadside billboards to televised commercials blaring from pumps at gas stations.

"This is a great first step for us to take a deep breath and shut them down from doing anything more . . . so that we can figure out where we go as a city," said Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents coastal communities.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said that he would support the moratorium.

At least one major billboard company, Clear Channel Outdoor, warned the council before the vote that it might take legal action to block the ban. Given the litigious history of the billboards companies in Los Angeles -- the city faces more than 25 lawsuits filed by outdoor advertising companies challenging restrictions on the signs -- city officials said they expected a court challenge.

Dennis Hathaway, of the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight, has advocated a crackdown on billboards in Los Angeles and said that he was relieved the council approved the moratorium. But he remains wary of the political battle ahead when the council debates which billboards and other advertising signs to allow and which to outlaw.

"What we need is a ban, period. No off-site signs," Hathaway said. "Other cities have done that without a problem."

A number of developers and business representatives urged the council not to adopt the moratorium, especially on the vinyl super-graphics that stretch across sides of buildings, arguing that the income from those ads was critical to their bottom line.