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Billboards
According to The Warren Sentinel, Front Royal wants to knock down billboards in town with the help of a TEA-21 grant (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century). In April the town received $80,000 in TEA-21 funds to buy up to 13 nonconforming billboards. The grant, which requires $20,000 in matching funds, will allow the town to enter into negotiations with billboard owners to acquire as many as possible, and then remove them. Town Planning Director Kimberley Fogle was quoted as saying, "Billboards became an issue after many residents and tourists complained about their appearance and obstruction of scenic views." She added that people complained the signs blocked their views of the mountains. Referring to several older billboards in town she said, "They don't guide tourists. They inhibit the way a tourist would see our community." Front Royal is also undertaking an enforcement campaign through the courts to remove any billboard that did not meet the regulations in place at the time of construction. The first case is currently in the court system and should be decided in the next few months. The Town has regulated billboards since the 1940s and since the 1970s has completely banned new ones.
Ranked According to Total Tourist Expenditures (1997 - Latest figures available from Virginia Tourism Corporation)
Scenic Virginia commissioned the Northern Virginia Research Laboratory of George Mason University to conduct a statewide telephone survey of 506 Virginia residents to determine the effectiveness of billboards across the state. Here is what Virginians think: Billboards are not especially useful to Virginians. Only 13% of Virginians said billboards were "very useful" to them, versus 20% who said they weren't useful at all. This implies that support for billboards as an advertising medium is very shallow. Logo signs are extremely useful to Virginians. 94% of respondents found logo signs useful, with 73% calling them "very useful." Moreover, Virginians preferred logo signs to billboards 71% to 21%—an overwhelming margin. Most people have had enough of billboard blight. By a huge margin—89% to 5%—Virginians believe there are too many billboards or the right amount of billboards in the state. Moreover, by a 7-1 margin (34% to 5%), Virginians believe there are too many billboards versus too few. Virginians strongly oppose tree cutting for billboard visibility. By a 2-1 margin (63% to 32%) Virginians oppose tree cutting for billboard visibility and would favor a bill prohibiting the practice. They even strongly support beautification projects, even if those projects block the view of pre-existing billboards. And When The Wind Blows... In 1986, the Virginia Beach City Council enacted tough restrictions on the height and square footage of commercial signs. The maximum height was reduced from 20 feet to 12, and all signs had to be 40 percent smaller. Billboards were outlawed. Since 1992, ten billboards have been removed and 249 oversized or otherwise offensive signs have been replaced. This year, the tally is two billboards and 53 [oversized] signs. "A good year," says Kevin L. Hershberger, Virginia Beach's sign inspector. Hurricane Bonnie and bank mergers combined to make the city look better. Both removed chronic eyesores, oversized commercial signs Virginia Beach had been trying to clean out for more than a decade. Twenty years ago Virginia Beach had a "forest of signs" according to Pat Janezeck, the zoning administrator. "They were as plentiful as telephone poles." The 1986 restrictions required damaged signs, if rebuilt, to conform to new city codes, and businesses making major renovations also had to remove nonconforming signs. Numerous lawsuits were filed over an eleven year period, including a failed appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the city prevailed. Hurricane Bonnie's 90 mph winds brought down three oversized signs and back to back northeasters snapped a few more rusted steel necks. What the storms did not bring down, corporate bank mergers did. When Wachovia Bank acquired Central Fidelity, the city landscape lost eight or nine more oversized signs. The sign ordinance hasn't run anyone out of town," a veteran Virginia Beach land-use attorney was quoted as saying. Virginia Beach's retail sales continue to set records proving that good sign ordinances contribute to attractive areas where shoppers go, stay longer and, most importantly, return. Congratulations to the City of Virginia Beach! |
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