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County rejects billboard deals
By ED QUIOCO, Times Staff Writer After months of negotiations and closed-door meetings, Pinellas County commissioners struck down proposed settlements that would have given two billboard companies more time to remove their large signs from county roads. The proposed deals were too lenient with billboard owners, some commissioners said Tuesday in opposing the measures. Others made it clear that they liked the idea of settling with the companies to avoid costly lawsuits -- they just didn't like some parts of the proposals. "This is a quality of life issue," said Commissioner Bob Stewart, who took the toughest stance against settling. "Quite frankly, from where I sit, this does not come up with something that is good for Pinellas County." Commissioners instructed county officials to return to the negotiating table to work out new settlement agreements. "Why don't we take the parts that are good and say we want to work from that," Commissioner Calvin Harris said. A proposed deal with Lamar Co. failed by a 4-3 margin, with Stewart, Harris and Commissioners Karen Seel and Kenneth Welch voting against the proposal. After that vote, commissioners struck down a similar deal with a second company, Viacom Outdoor, with five commissioners voting against the proposal. Commissioner Susan Latvala, who helped broker the deals, urged her colleagues to think of the consequences if the cases went to court. If the county is on the losing end, she warned, none of the billboards would come down. "There is no guarantee that if we went to court, we will win," Latvala said. "I think this gets us where we want to be. It just takes a little bit longer." Under the proposed deals, Lamar Co. would be able to keep most of its billboards up until 2014, and three could stay up until 2025. Viacom Outdoor also would gradually remove its billboards until 2021. Three of its billboards on Ulmerton Road could remain until 2025. The two companies have more than 50 billboards that would have been affected by the proposed deals. A 1992 county ordinance gave the companies seven years to bring down billboards that didn't meet the new rules. But when the county tried to enforce the ban, the companies threatened costly lawsuits challenging the law. On Tuesday, four residents who spoke against the deals urged commissioners not to back down. "We really need to stand up and do what's right," said Perry Ellie, 49, who lives in unincorporated Pinellas. Commissioners brought up two concerns that will be the main points renegotiated by county staffers. Welch said his "deal breaker" was an annexation clause in the proposed deals. If a billboard marked for removal by the county settlement is on property that becomes annexed into a city, that would count as a removal even though the billboard might not actually come down. "We will be encouraging annexation, and 26 billboards will not come down," Welch said. The second concern came from Harris, who said he wants the county staff to research the option of replacing billboards with signs on bus shelters. Attorneys for the county and the companies were not optimistic that was a viable option. "That is basically a can of worms that a lot of lawyers will have to deal with," said Marilyn Healy, an attorney for Viacom. Seel said she was concerned the proposed deals would allow too much clutter on the county's main highways. "Isn't that a great entrance to Pinellas County?" Seel asked. "I don't think so, and I can't support this." Charles Rutz, who lives in Clearwater, urged commissioners to end negotiations with the companies and begin enforcing the 1992 ordinance. "I'm not an activist, but I just hate the look of those things," Rutz, 57, said after the commission's votes. "I don't think anyone has driven around Pinellas County and said, 'Gee, that's a good-looking billboard.' "
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
