[Durham INC] Billboard Industry Tactics to Circumvent Regulation (Scenic America)

Mon Jan 19 13:00:03 EST 2009

To be fair to the billboard industry, and to those thinking about this
issue, I think looking at what the Outdoor Advertising Association of
America (www.oaaa.org) has to say about these digital billboards is in
order. It's the professional organization that represents the outdoor
advertising industry across the country. And since all of the information
that has been presented here has been one-sided, here's an editorial from
the Herald Sun today supporting digital  billboards. It touches on the
jobs these billboards create right here in our community.

Digital billboards support local jobs

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I have lived in Durham all my life. I am proud to work at Cree, a
home-grown Durham business. I've heard there is some opposition to
installing a few digital billboards in Durham along I-85, U.S. 70 and the
Durham Freeway.

I think digital billboards are pretty neat. You can see them in Charlotte,
Greensboro and Asheville. They don't flash or have movement. I would be
opposed to that, but they are really clear, like a picture.

What many people don't know is that the LED components of these digital
billboard are made right here in Durham at Cree. To my knowledge, Cree has
never laid off any workers, which is a big achievement in today's economy.
I hope that continues.

I also hope that people will look at this situation and realize we need to
help local businesses like Cree make it through these tough times, and
supporting digital billboards is a way to make that happen. Since digital
billboard work in so many other cities, I don't see why they shouldn't be
allowed in Durham, right where the LEDs are made.

BRAD STEPHENSON
Durham
January 19, 2009

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On another positive note, billboards (each one of the across the country;
some estimated 450,000 of them) is an independent business. They are taxed
as such (property taxes) and also pay revenue taxes. Both of these are
local community tax items. Instead of taking our tax dollars, they give
back to the communities they serve, offering advertising for all to see
relative to the community they serve. Not only are they tax paying
businesses, here in Durham, they have been a good neighbor as well. They
do not use fire or police protection and they use no water or sewer. So
they really have no impact on out tax-based services, yet contribute to
paying for it all. The proposed new billboards have a property tax value
of around $4M.

Scenic.org uses the words "tactics to circumvent". Billboards are a
business like any other and have to work in the framework that exists just
like all businesses do. If changing something will help their business or
add value, it's no different than what any other business would do. For
example, the new Lowes on Fayetteville Road had to rezone the land it is
being built on in order to be built. In that agreement for rezoning, they
did a number of other things like widen the road and add bike lanes. Stuff
like this happens all the time. It's business... And to deny a business
the right to grow and succeed does have consequences. Especially if it's
legal in this State (which digital billboards are; as well as 37 other
states). This is why the legal issues end up in courts. We're the only
losers in those battles because it's our tax dollars paying for it all.

In the scenic.org surveys section on billboards, there hasn't been a new
survey done about them in the last 12 years. Last year, Fairway
commissioned an independent survey poll in Durham, looking at digital
billboards in our community. 70% of those they polled either didn't have
an opinion or didn't mind the billboards. These were your neighbors they
polled, not some select group that happens to like billboards. It might be
that those who support a ban on digital billboards are the same folks who
were so out of touch with their neighbors on the meals tax when it came to
a vote. The percentages are very close (73% against the food tax and 70%
for digital billboards). Or maybe the few voices we've heard from so far
are out of touch with their community. 70% is a big number to either not
care or support them, so you have to wonder where the disconnect we keep
hearing about, that how bad they are, is coming from. Certainly not from
the majority of those polled about them.

I am not sending this because I have an opinion that they are good or bad.
I grew up in a state where there are no billboards because as a State, we
voted to ban them. I am just tired of hearing one side of this discussion
when we all know there are two sides. Just because you read it on this
list or read it on a website doesn't mean any of it is better than the
other. Most of what we have heard from others has just been opinion and
emotions.  Being a scientist, I'd rather base my decision on some facts.

Here are some facts I know and found out by doing some reading. I know
they pay 2 forms of tax that go back into our community to support all
that it takes to operate our services. I know they do not use our tax
based services mentioned above of fire, police, water, serer, etc. I know
there will be no additional billboards errected (the digital ones will
replace existing ones). I also know the new digital billboards will not be
any brighter than what exists now (the one it will replace). These are
facts. Like them or not, they're here (billboards in general) and not
going away in our lifetime. Even the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
has concluded these digital billboards don't violate any federal laws when
it comes to highway placement. And no one can point to accidents they have
caused. Not one. It's just more speculation on the part of those that
don't like billboards. I still maintain the biggest cause of accidents on
our highways today come from inside the car, not outside it. And there's
plenty of information about those accidents...

There are about a 100 billboards in all of Durham County. They want to
replace 8 of them in high traffic areas with these new digital ones (I-85,
I-70 and 147 corridors). If scenic.org could see what they hide (they're
all about views) as you come into Durham from the Park on 147, they'd
support billboards in that area as well. This issue hardly seems like a
big deal to me. It's just a business wanting to use new technology to
expand its bottom line. And in doing so, increase its taxes back to the
community (as well as the free space it has offered our community for more
than 25 years). Allowing right-of-way solicitation looks worse for our
community (and endangers more people) as folks drive through it than
billboards ever will...

RWP
27 Beverly

> Billboard Industry Tactics to Circumvent Regulation
>
> ...the billboard industry uses standardized tactics to undermine local
billboard control efforts.  These include:
>
> * Donating free billboard space for public service announcements.  Their
calculation:  users of free billboard space will not support attempts at
billboard regulation.  Moreover, the industry uses these examples to
undermine the positions of public interest groups who favor billboard
reform.
>
> * Donating free billboard space to politicians.  In one industry
publication, a company noted that it would be difficult for council
members to support billboard control when they were using billboards
themselves.
>
> * Spending millions of dollars on contributions to local and state
officials.
>
> * Exaggerating the importance of billboards to local economies.  There
is
> no evidence whatsoever that local economies suffer when communities
control billboards.  What's more, with fewer than 14,000 employees
nationwide, the billboard industry provides little in the way of
employment to local residents.
>
> * Threatening communities and citizens with lawsuits -- and actually
suing
> in many cases -- to prevent them from implementing local ordinances.  In
their unsuccessful fight against Jacksonville's billboard removal, the
billboard industry has acknowledged spending over $1 million in legal
fees.
>
>
> source: http://www.scenic.org/billboards/industry/tactics
>
> _______________________________________________
> Durham INC Mailing List
> list at durham-inc.org
> http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
>

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