Billboard Blight - Polluting our urban and rural landscapes

Pioneering and progressive when first enacted, the City of San Diego's sign ordinance has stood the test of time. Our region has many priceless attributes that should not be sold for any price. Strict sign laws are among them. Yet currently, several battles are underway that could drastically change the visual quality of areas of the City of San Diego, San Diego County, and the City of Vista. This site compiles information on these pending issues and is organized according to the geographic areas in which developers and outdoor advertisers are seeking to weaken existing limits on outdoor advertising. See how you can help protect San Diego's vistas.

Prior to approving any amendments to any jurisdiction’s sign laws, a thorough review of the legal implications of such proposals should be prepared to determine if they open the door to massive signage blight. In jurisdictions where loosened sigh laws are being touted as revenue generators for public coffers, a thorough review of the actual financial results obtained by public entities that have permitted new signage should be conducted, to determine whether they really yield the profits projected or are these promises illusory?

News & Announcements

Action Alert: S. D. City Council Land Use & Housing Committee Meets 5/22/13
The City Attorney's new legal analysis of a proposal to allow as many as 79 digital billboards and other types of currently banned outdoor, off-site advertising was released on April 2, 2013 and is due to be discussed at a hearing of the San Diego City Council’s Land Use & Housing Committee’s in Spring 2013. The exact date has not been announced but it is tentatively expected to be heard at the committee meeting on May 22, 2013. The committee meets at 2 p.m. in the City Council Committee Room, 12th Floor, City Administration Building at 202 C Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Summary of Existing Law and New Proposal to Amend the City of San Diego’s Sign Ordinance
San Diego’s sign ordinance has endured for 40 years through multiple court challenges and a battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The City Council first enacted a billboard ban targeting signs near freeways in 1962. After years of study and debate, in 1972 the Council enacted a city-wide ban on off-site advertising signs to phase out billboards. More litigation followed, ultimately reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1981 struck the ordinance but gave guidance on how it could be amended to be constitutional.

We are a coalition of concerned citizens and organizations who favor strong sign ordinances and oppose proposals now pending in several San Diego County jurisdictions to amend existing strict sign laws to allow digital billboards and other advertising sign proliferation.  We are affiliated with the premier national organization fighting for beautification and against sign pollution, Scenic America

Summary

Download our annotated Summary of Existing Law and New Proposal to Amend the City of San Diego’s Sign Ordinance.

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