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What's Brewing

A bad sign of times

By Times Staff
Published October 6, 2006

Physically, I've heard it described as a zit, a sundial, even a robotic creature.

Conceptually, it's been called an insult and a slap in the face.

Those are the publishable terms.

A new billboard along Howard Avenue just south of Interstate 275 is drawing critical reviews from people who say the structure doesn't belong in West Tampa, a nationally recognized historic place.

Crews installed the black metal sign last week, surprising locals who drive daily on Howard, a main drag for exiting South Tampa and entering West Tampa.

Jason Busto, known in some circles as the unofficial mayor of West Tampa, considers the sign a huge setback in ongoing efforts to improve the neighborhood.

"We've worked so hard. It's insulting," he said. "It screams ghetto. I'm really sad it happened and disappointed that people don't appear to be thinking through these things in a coordinated way."

The billboard isn't one of those cheap, temporary-looking wooden deals. It's a tall, solid structure with lights and two signs.

The structure stands a few blocks from the interstate on a vacant lot at Howard and La Salle Street. It's smack in front of the recently restored Berriman-Morgan cigar factory.

Owned by CBS, the billboard replaces an old one that recently fell prey to the interstate widening project. State law requires cities to relocate these billboards, regardless of a city's sign rules. Tampa bans any new billboards.

If they don't, they have two choices: They can pay the billboard company for the gazillions of dollars the sign would have generated, or they can brace for a lawsuit.

So basically, the city's hands were tied. Or so they say.

City Council member Mary Alvarez, who represents West Tampa, wasn't giving in. When the relocation issue came before council Aug. 24, she cast the lone vote against it, saying, "It just doesn't seem right that we have to weigh in and approve something we don't like."

Alvarez wants the city to find another site for the billboard that doesn't scream in the face of West Tampa. She doesn't like the state, and strong billboard lobbyists, forcing a local issue down her throat.

"To me, if a neighborhood doesn't want it or like it, then it shouldn't go there," she said. "Who's running this country? The billboard industry or state legislatures?"

Council member Linda Saul-Sena wasn't too pleased, either, but supported the move. In doing so, however, she asked the city's legal department to meet with the Florida Department of Transportation to voice their concerns about the proliferation of billboards in historic areas that line interstates.

Good idea but a little too late for West Tampa. That sign doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. It's too bad, especially for the people who have to look at it every day.

"It's a monstrosity," said Spencer Kass, a vice president for Landmark Realty, which has an office a few blocks away on Howard. "The whole thing makes absolutely no sense."

Adding insult, the billboards boast signs from two taxpayer-funded institutions: the University of South Florida and the state of Florida, hardly mom-and-pop businesses desperate for visibility.

The state sign shows golfers in a pretty green background advertising for www.visitflorida.com. The kicker line: You should see the state you're in.

Yeah, you should see it, all right. Billboards where we don't want them. Residents powerless to prevent them. And city officials unwilling to call anyone's bluff.

THE LAST DROP: Sorry, but you won't hear any crying from me about Tampa not getting the Republican National Convention in 2008. Instead, let's funnel all that money and energy required to host the event into more lasting benefits for the city. Take your pick. Right now, I know of a billboard that needs addressing.

Susan Thurston can be reached at thurston@sptimes.com or 226-3394.

[Last modified October 5, 2006, 07:10:27]