[Durham INC] Billboard proposal

Wed Jan 21 00:22:26 EST 2009

Tom
I agree with much of what you've said, one exception is the first sentence,  
"I’m not sure I understand why  some of you say we don’t know what Fairway’s 
proposal is."

I'd say we only know what it "was", before they pulled it. More than agree  
with your comment, "suppose they may change it at some point in the future", as 
 that would seem like the only logical reason for pulling it.
Since we both suspect they'll propose something different, I also agree we  
shouldn't worry about that until it happens.

Until that time, valuable dialogue is still possible. I shouldn't need to  
remind Tom Miller, Durham wouldn't be having any discussion. You were  
foresighted enough 20 years ago to make Durham a very different county in  regards to 
billboards, so the contrast is already visible as you pass the county  lines. 
Get crazy foresighted with me for a minute, imagine a drive from Greensboro  
to Durham 100 years in the future. Hard to imagine what we are seeing! But I 
bet  we see those same electronic billboards in Burlington that sprang up there 
a  century ago, without the discussions they had in Durham, or the efforts 
two  decades before that gave rise to any say in the matter.

Our laws were crafted wisely, with the intent of getting rid of billboards,  
allowing them to remain only for their "useful Lifetime", so as not to cause a 
 financial hardship for the owners. After it effectively "falls of it's own  
accord", no new billboards would be built to replace it. Sounds good. So  
eventually, maybe not in our lifetimes, Durham would be billboard free.......  
hypothetically.

I think 100 years from now, they will still be standing. Can't describe  what 
is behind them, but all the Burlington billboards are now electronic, and  
there's a major contrast when you cross the county line into Durham. The  
billboards are still there, but they are the old fashioned ones, with paper and  
light shining onto them, instead of from them. Maybe this is good, and  gives us 
an antique feel.
But why are they still here one hundred years later? 

We know today, that we don't want to see these things past their  useful 
lifetime, but we also don't want to have an eye sore sitting beside the  highway 
while we watch it rot for it's last few decades. So our current  laws give the 
industry the right to spend 25% of each billboard's value  each year on upkeep.
That meant they can replace one pole this year, and another pole next year,  
and a face the following year, thereby allowing them to rebuild the whole sign 
 often enough.... they are still gonna be here in the year 2109.

Maybe they look awful. Paper might become very expensive in a nearly  
paperless society, so maybe they stretch the use way too far. Maybe the faded  
billboards are a unique feature, perhaps non existent in other counties, and a  cool 
funky welcome to Durham, like cows on top of our stores. 
Maybe the paper billboards will no longer be a viable business due only to  
the cost of paper. And we'll credit the extinction to paper costs, not the  
laws we have now.

I'll bet 100 years from now we'll still be longing to see the trees, or  
what's left of them, behind almost all of Durham's current billboards. A few  more 
will be gone, due to us buying one or two for a road, or a  tornado coming 
through, but we'll still have the mass majority of them, and no  better idea 
what their expected lifetimes are than we know today.

Maybe then the industry will approach our great grand kids and offer to  chop 
down all their existing signs in exchange for a single electronic one at  
each end of our county. And make every sixth message a Durham controlled ad.  
Then Durham's distinction would be being billboard free, but not if our great  
grandkids refuse to even listen to the industry's proposals.

Same thing is true today. If we don't come to a resolution, our kids should  
make the call, or their kids, or our great grandkids 100 years from now.

But each generation should do two things, listen to proposals, lest we  stick 
ourselves with laws that might not work in the future. Certainly won't  hurt 
us to re-examine the laws every so often, to see that they are still the  best 
choice, once every 25-50 years, or maybe every 20 years, meaning we're  about 
due.

Two things, listen to proposals when they are put on the table, and don't  
worry too much until that happens. Listening never hurts you, not listening is  
rarely the best choice, and you're almost always better off without worry,  
too.

Sorry so long,

Bill Anderson

In a message dated 1/20/2009 6:27:51 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
tom-miller1 at nc.rr.com writes:

I’m not sure I understand why some  of you say we don’t know what Fairway’s 
proposal is.  They have put it in  writing to the city and county twice and 
they explained it to us at the last  INC meeting.  Assuming that they meant what 
they said, I think I  understand their proposal very clearly.  While I 
suppose they may change  it at some point in the future, I’m not going to worry 
about that until it  happens. 
Based on what I know, which is  what Fairway has told us, I oppose their 
proposal to change Durham’s zoning  ordinances to allow them and their competitors 
to upgrade their  billboards.  I oppose the proposal on all its points.  
Remember,  under the proposal, some signs would change to the flashing variety, 
some  would be moved, and others, pole-mounted, would be put on steel masts.   
All of the billboards in question are nonconforming uses and they shouldn’t be  
upgraded.  It isn’t fair and it is contrary to Durham’s sound and  
successful policy.  There is no public need for billboards and there is  no compelling 
reason to allow this industry (and especially not its dominant  firm) better 
than we treat any other citizen who could make more money if he  could get 
special treatment under the zoning  ordinances. 
Tom  Miller

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