L.A. officials seek 6-month moratorium on new billboards
The proposal comes as the city tries to tighten rules governing outdoor advertising.
Los Angeles city planning officials this afternoon recommended a six-month moratorium on all new billboards. The move--which now goes to the City Council -- is intended to give the city enough time to replace weak, ineffective restrictions on outdoor advertising that have allowed billboards to sprout almost unabated across the Los Angeles skyline.
City officials have struggled for years to regulate the billboard industry even as the placement of the oversized signs has infuriated many in Los Angeles neighborhoods. So far, the industry has successfully used the courts to shred city restrictions on where such signs can be placed, arguing the rules are unfair and inconsistent.
The push for a moratorium on new billboards comes at a time when council members already are reviewing ways to stem conversion of standard billboards into digital displays and impose limits on multi-story "super graphics" stretched across buildings. They also are trying to determine how many currently exist in the city -- legally and illegally -- and impose an inspection fee on the signs that could survive a court challenge.
Willon is a Times staff writer.
phil.willon@latimes.com
