No digital kiosksThrough citizen support, Scenic San Diego has worked for over 10 years to defend San Diego’s historic freeze on outdoor advertising. We successfully defeated marketeer schemes in 2013 to cover downtown in wraps and digital ads. In 2018, we prevented the blanketing of our waterfront with massive ad wraps and blocked the installation of digital kiosks capable of capturing data from the cell phones of passersby. Now the City is considering a proposal to litter downtown with 75 ad-blaring digital kiosks, opening the door to a hordes of outdoor ads as seen in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and elsewhere.
|
|
Action Alert: Say no to Digital Kiosks
The digital kiosks proposal will be heard by the San Diego City Council during the 2 pm session of their meeting on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. It is vital to voice your opposition to this drastic expansion of outdoor advertising. Here is how:
The proposed system, comprised of 50 digital kiosks positioned throughout downtown San Diego, would bring intrusive digital advertising to the center of the city, in violation of the historic ban on new outdoor advertising (San Diego Municipal Code §142.1201-142.1293). These signs would create a proliferation of garish advertising that would harm quality of life for the people of San Diego and would bring ugly visual pollution to our city.
The proposal for this system is not legally or economically sound. A report issued on November 25, 2022 by the Office of The Independent Budget Analyst (IBA Report Number 22-31) cautioned against the plan and advised that the proposal would undermine the current sign regulations, and that revenue potential for the city would be limited. The report identified many more viable options for pursuing revenue opportunities.
We plead for the City Council to vote NO on this proposal. Authorizing this wayfinding system will undermine the sign regulations that have protected the visual beauty of San Diego, and which have made it a beautiful and attractive place to live, for more than 50 years.
- Attend the June 6 City Council meeting in person at City Hall downtown.
Speak or cede time to our coordinator Pam Wilson, so she can speak for more than one minute. The item number #334 calendared for the afternoon session beginning at 2 pm. View agenda and instructions for providing testimony. Get driving directions | Download parking info. - Join the meeting virtually by Zoom or telephone (1-669-254 5252, meeting ID 160 114 3486). Launch Zoom .
- Submit written comments on the city council website. You may write your own message or use the sample language below. Submit your comments.
The proposed system, comprised of 50 digital kiosks positioned throughout downtown San Diego, would bring intrusive digital advertising to the center of the city, in violation of the historic ban on new outdoor advertising (San Diego Municipal Code §142.1201-142.1293). These signs would create a proliferation of garish advertising that would harm quality of life for the people of San Diego and would bring ugly visual pollution to our city.
The proposal for this system is not legally or economically sound. A report issued on November 25, 2022 by the Office of The Independent Budget Analyst (IBA Report Number 22-31) cautioned against the plan and advised that the proposal would undermine the current sign regulations, and that revenue potential for the city would be limited. The report identified many more viable options for pursuing revenue opportunities.
We plead for the City Council to vote NO on this proposal. Authorizing this wayfinding system will undermine the sign regulations that have protected the visual beauty of San Diego, and which have made it a beautiful and attractive place to live, for more than 50 years.
News
A Compelling Argument Against Digital Kiosks from S.D. Planning Commission Chair
6/2/23 - In the April 20th Planning Commission meeting, Chairperson William Hofman voiced his common-sense reasoning for voting against the digital kiosks: "I am afraid of the risk from people who may want to challenge our sign ordinance or try to do similar things.
I am not going to support the motion. To me as a planning commissioner … my job is to look at the design, the needs, of not only the downtown area but also the entire city. And I just don’t see the need. I really don’t see the need. I believe that this will not be a substitute for cell phones. Cell phones are far more convenient, you don’t have to walk two blocks to look at it, and a cell phone can do everything that these kiosks will do. I definitely got online because I wanted to see what they looked like. It wasn’t clear in our staff report, really, the visual. These are eight feet tall. There’s digital advertising, which I don’t think is necessary …
It’s not easy for me to ever go against a city sponsored project, I don’t think I ever have …
I just feel overall, for the citizens, that it’s not necessary. And it’ll bring visual clutter downtown, that I believe will cause safety problems. People are going to use it, for sure, but I just think when it gets back to the basics, people are going to use their cell phones. … And I’m concerned about the extra visual clutter I don’t think downtown needs…" View the video (skip to 12:59).
6/2/23 - In the April 20th Planning Commission meeting, Chairperson William Hofman voiced his common-sense reasoning for voting against the digital kiosks: "I am afraid of the risk from people who may want to challenge our sign ordinance or try to do similar things.
I am not going to support the motion. To me as a planning commissioner … my job is to look at the design, the needs, of not only the downtown area but also the entire city. And I just don’t see the need. I really don’t see the need. I believe that this will not be a substitute for cell phones. Cell phones are far more convenient, you don’t have to walk two blocks to look at it, and a cell phone can do everything that these kiosks will do. I definitely got online because I wanted to see what they looked like. It wasn’t clear in our staff report, really, the visual. These are eight feet tall. There’s digital advertising, which I don’t think is necessary …
It’s not easy for me to ever go against a city sponsored project, I don’t think I ever have …
I just feel overall, for the citizens, that it’s not necessary. And it’ll bring visual clutter downtown, that I believe will cause safety problems. People are going to use it, for sure, but I just think when it gets back to the basics, people are going to use their cell phones. … And I’m concerned about the extra visual clutter I don’t think downtown needs…" View the video (skip to 12:59).
Surveillance questions remain unanswered by Director Bibler
At the March 8th Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations committee meeting, City of San Diego Economic Development Director Christina Bibler (left) promised Council Pro Tem Montgomery Steppe that her questions about surveillance ordinance exemptions in relation to the proposed digital kiosks would be answered before the kiosks came to the full council. To our knowledge, no answers have been provided. Furthermore, Director Bibler promised to answer our questions about the kiosks, but to this date, she has not done so. Instead we have received the following by email, with the last response on April 13th, 2023 (over 45 days ago). Read more.
At the March 8th Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations committee meeting, City of San Diego Economic Development Director Christina Bibler (left) promised Council Pro Tem Montgomery Steppe that her questions about surveillance ordinance exemptions in relation to the proposed digital kiosks would be answered before the kiosks came to the full council. To our knowledge, no answers have been provided. Furthermore, Director Bibler promised to answer our questions about the kiosks, but to this date, she has not done so. Instead we have received the following by email, with the last response on April 13th, 2023 (over 45 days ago). Read more.
Questions linger from the March 8th EDIR Committee meeting
6/3/23 - At the Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations committee meeting on March 8th 2023, Council President Pro Tem Monica Montgomery Steppe asked what exemption from the City’s surveillance ordinance the kiosks fit into. Staff referred this question to the Deputy City Attorney present, who said questions about surveillance are deferred to the Mayor’s office, or something like that. To which, Montgomery Steppe says “That’s a new one.”
Staffer Christina Bibler then claimed the questions would be answered before it came to full council, including in a staff report, but to our knowledge, these questions have never been answered. View the full video (skip to 1:05:45).
6/3/23 - At the Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations committee meeting on March 8th 2023, Council President Pro Tem Monica Montgomery Steppe asked what exemption from the City’s surveillance ordinance the kiosks fit into. Staff referred this question to the Deputy City Attorney present, who said questions about surveillance are deferred to the Mayor’s office, or something like that. To which, Montgomery Steppe says “That’s a new one.”
Staffer Christina Bibler then claimed the questions would be answered before it came to full council, including in a staff report, but to our knowledge, these questions have never been answered. View the full video (skip to 1:05:45).
Join us in opposing the digital kiosks - make your voice heard at the June 6th City Council meeting.
Times of San Diego "Opinion: Digital Kiosks Are First Step to Blighting San Diego with Ad Billboards"
6/3/23 - By Pamela Wilson. Excerpted from Times of San Diego. Read the full version online at timesofsandiego.com.
"Mayor Todd Gloria was a councilmember in 2013 when the Land Use and Housing Committee rejected a developer’s bid to demolish sign limits by draping downtown with nearly 100 building wraps and other ad media, including kiosks like those now envisioned. Now the Mayor has abandoned his past defense of our city’s distinct character, using his power under the strong mayor system to sidestep transparent review of this drastic zoning exception. Four no votes at the June 6 council meeting are required to prevent San Diego from becoming just another ad-blighted city. Rumors are rampant at City Hall that the ad screens are just the tip of the iceberg. Next will be a wholesale dismantlement of sign limits — so expect wraps, digital billboards, and other visual litter in the near future. This explains why unprecedented exceptions to sign limits are proposed for the paltry sum of about $600,000 in total revenue per year for the general fund. There is no plausible motive other than to incrementally erode our sign limits by auctioning our field of vision to the highest bidder. Doing so will brand our elected council as less progressive than appointed Port Commissioners, who in 2018 rejected similar ad kiosks along our waterfront by the same vendor, IKE Smart City. Debate on those kiosks lasted for a year and included a robust discussion of the data-gathering technology contained in these devices. But this year, the info-capturing capabilities of interactive signs have been obfuscated in staff reports and minimized in ad agency testimony — and not even explained in the agreement the council will vote on." Excerpted from Times of San Diego. Read the full version online at timesofsandiego.com.
"Mayor Todd Gloria was a councilmember in 2013 when the Land Use and Housing Committee rejected a developer’s bid to demolish sign limits by draping downtown with nearly 100 building wraps and other ad media, including kiosks like those now envisioned. Now the Mayor has abandoned his past defense of our city’s distinct character, using his power under the strong mayor system to sidestep transparent review of this drastic zoning exception. Four no votes at the June 6 council meeting are required to prevent San Diego from becoming just another ad-blighted city. Rumors are rampant at City Hall that the ad screens are just the tip of the iceberg. Next will be a wholesale dismantlement of sign limits — so expect wraps, digital billboards, and other visual litter in the near future. This explains why unprecedented exceptions to sign limits are proposed for the paltry sum of about $600,000 in total revenue per year for the general fund. There is no plausible motive other than to incrementally erode our sign limits by auctioning our field of vision to the highest bidder. Doing so will brand our elected council as less progressive than appointed Port Commissioners, who in 2018 rejected similar ad kiosks along our waterfront by the same vendor, IKE Smart City. Debate on those kiosks lasted for a year and included a robust discussion of the data-gathering technology contained in these devices. But this year, the info-capturing capabilities of interactive signs have been obfuscated in staff reports and minimized in ad agency testimony — and not even explained in the agreement the council will vote on." Excerpted from Times of San Diego. Read the full version online at timesofsandiego.com.
|
|
Views Are Worth Protecting“You can switch TV channels or the radio station, but you can’t turn us off,” ~ Hande Jones, Lamar Outdoor Advertising
Scenic San Diego is a coalition of concerned citizens and organizations who favor strong sign ordinances and oppose proposals to amend existing strict sign laws to allow digital billboards, digital ad kiosks and other advertising sign proliferation. We are affiliated with the premier national organization fighting for beautification and against sign pollution, Scenic America.
|