Some neighborhood groups and anti-billboard advocates praised the proposed restrictions but worried that the ordinance could have unintended consequences, including an explosion of mini-billboards in front of apartment buildings and businesses across the city.
Currently, the city has separate restrictions for "on-site" signs, which advertise the store or products it sells, and "off-site" signs, which advertise products not available on the property.
The proposed measure scraps that distinction, so all signs would be regulated by the same criteria. City building inspectors advocated the change, saying enforcement would be easier.
The ordinance was drafted largely as a response to the spread of digital billboards, the result of a 2006 legal settlement allowing hundreds of electronic signs.
The city has so far issued 95 permits allowing traditional billboards to be converted to digital displays.
Under the court settlement, up to 840 billboards could eventually be converted to digital; however, a spokesman for the city attorney's office said that would not occur if the council approves a citywide ban on all digital billboards.
Planners recommend banning all new digital signs, saying they pose a traffic hazard.
Ryan Brooks of CBS Outdoor, one of the largest billboard companies operating in the city, disagreed, saying a number of academic and government studies show that assertion to be untrue.
He also noted that the largest provider of digital signs along roadways in California is Caltrans, which provides road conditions, Amber alerts and other information to drivers.
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phil.willon@latimes.com
