More billboard owners and government agencies are reaching agreements on sign relocations and trade-offs. Both sides are looking for compromise solutions instead of digging in for a fight to the death over billboard takes. While it is not possible to solve every disagreement outside of court, the trend appears to favor negotiation over litigation. The
The City of Los Angeles recently voted to ban billboards and begin to get a handle on how many signs are in the city. The City does not know the number of billboards in its jurisdiction, and some signs have been in existence for years without permits. Los Angeles is now faced with the job
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to ban all new billboards in a city that currently has approximately 10,000 such structures. The Council also rejected proposals by the industry to erect 50 new billboards along high traffic volume freeways in exchange for removing about 2,500 signs on low traffic volume surface streets. Most of
The Supreme Court of Georgia decided that a billboard owner must be compensated for a sign that could not be rebuilt after being damaged. A sign in Cobb County, Georgia owned by Outdoor Systems (now Viacom) was damaged by a tornado. The County had previously adopted an ordinance that prohibited any new off-premises signs, but
Total advertising spending in the US was down 0.4% in the first quarter of 2002 according to CMR, an ad-tracking unit of Taylor Nelson Sofres Co. The performance would have been even worse except for the boost in spending by advertisers during the Olympics in Salt Lake City this year. Ads on TV for the
Lamar Advertising Company reported an increase in revenue of 3.6% for the first quarter of 2002 compared to the same period in the prior year. Sales rose from $170.4 million to $176.5 million. The increase came mostly from acquisitions of billboards during the previous 12 months. On a “same store” basis, which reflects the growth
On April 4, 2002, Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed house bill 715 into law, which requires local governments to pay just compensation to billboard owners when they require the removal of billboards within their jurisdictions. The Governor stated, “The taking, whether direct or indirect, of private property is serious business. It should require extraordinary effort
Vic Root has been involved in billboard acquisition for more than 50 years. After working with an international public accounting firm in the 1950s, he went to work for Naegele Advertising in Minneapolis and has been deeply involved in the industry ever since. His work for Naegele consisted mainly of purchases and sales of outdoor
Billboards Continue To Be Taxed As Personal Property The Arizona Court of Appeals handed down a decision on March 7, 2001 that throws out a test used by American courts for 150 years to distinguish personal property from fixtures. Known as the Teaff test from a case in 1853, case law since that time has
