Vote "NO" on Digital Billboards along the 5 and 14 Freeways

Members of the Santa Clarita Planning Commission and City Council have been working on a deal with Metro to swap out 118 static billboards located on 62 structures within Santa Clarita city limits for new, double-sided digital billboards positioned along the 5 and 14 freeways.  Arrangements have been made for monetary compensation to the city-- and you probably had no idea this was happening.  Please take a few minutes to read the information below to learn what has been going on in the City Council, and then sign the petition to tell the City Council that this is a bad plan that opens our city to "visual blight" worse than what we currently have! 

--Update: They voted to have a second reading, tonight, March 25th at the city council meeting. This plan will open up the 5 and 14 freeways to the digital billboards you see in Vegas!  Tell the city council:NO THANK YOU!!! 

-- Update: As of right now Metro backed out of the deal because they are not willing to indemnify the city against legal action from people claiming an accident was caused by a driver distracted by the billboards.  http://tinyurl.com/nofornow BUT that does not mean this deal is totally off the table permanently. We still need to gather as many signatures as possible so the city knows we are against it. Please continue reading! --

The Santa Clarita Planning Commission and City Council's argument in favor of the swap is the removal of "visual blight" along Soledad Canyon Road and Railroad Avenue. http://tinyurl.com/scvplanning   Unfortunately the swap will result in visual blight along the freeways-- which are the gateway to our city. These electric billboards will show the world that our city, which used to be very concerned about appearances, is letting the almighty dollar direct the city's appearance.  Other cities around the country who have installed these billboards have been met with opposition from their citizens and eventually have to pay to remove them. Let's just avoid that from the start and instruct the City Council to vote "NO" on the Metro deal.  

In addition to "visual blight", these new billboards will contribute more light pollution. Along these freeways is open space that Santa Claritans have always fought to keep-- preserve this natural land as it has always been.  These billboards will interrupt that darkness, chipping away our nature-loving city.  They may also contribute to more distracted driving.  Digital billboards are meant to catch your attention and direct your gaze away from the road, up to the billboard. If they change the image every 10 seconds, then drivers' gazes will be re-directed away from the road every 10 seconds.  In addition, small businesses who currently advertise on the static billboards will be priced out of buying advertising on the large digital billboards. This doesn't sound like a good plan, does it?

In December 2013, this article posted on the trusted KHTS Hometown Station website-- too bad not many people knew about it.  http://tinyurl.com/scvplan-is-onesided  It appears that planning was conducted and agreements were made between the city and Metro before the proposal was shared with the public.  This may be in violation of The Brown Act, which clearly limits closed negotiations to discussion of price and terms of payment. http://tinyurl.com/thebrownact

If you notice in the December 2013 article, the Before & After visualizations of Railroad Avenue show the benefits to the look of the area when the billboards are removed.  What is not addressed is the look of the area where the new digital billboards will be located, nor is the impact on local businesses who own the static billboards, or the businesses who won't be able to afford to advertise on the new digital billboards.

Santa Clarita City Council members voted 3-1 to approve three 50-year leases.  50 YEARS.

http://tinyurl.com/scvbillboard1

This is And how do they get around the infamous Santa Clarita Sign Ordinance? By changing it, of course!  http://tinyurl.com/scv-ordinance-change

Here is the agreement as posted on the city's website.  http://tinyurl.com/scv-billboard-agreement

Now read under "Planning Commission"  In the planning meeting on January 7, 2014, it was decided "that the minimum spacing between digital billboards [shall be] 2,500 feet."  That is less than 1/2 mile required between billboards.  What that means to Santa Claritans living near the 5 and 14 freeways--  the city will have the right to place digital billboards near your home.  The original swap asks for three:  one on the 5 Freeway at Magic Mountain Parkway, and two on the 14 Freeway near Canyon Country (so people can look at the sign as they leave Santa Clarita).  However, the Planning Commission leaves that open in the acceptable area based on land-use zones.  In this attached exhibit, the areas in red are all "acceptable areas" for digital sign placement.  http://tinyurl.com/scv-land-use   If you live in Newhall, like me, you'll notice that the farm near Calgrove, was re-zoned mixed-use (that was done several years ago and they plan to build there). The city will be able to  place one of those digital signs at the Calgrove exit of the 5 Freeway… and another at the Lyons Avenue exit, because there is more than a half-mile between them.   

So if you live in La Salle, The Oaks, and Oakridge tracts, or behind Wiley Canyon Elementary School, look for some more light pollution in your future.  If you live off Sagecrest in Stevenson ranch and have a view of the city, thank your Santa Clarita City Council for wrecking that view.  Valencia, Sand Canyon… just like us, your property values will drop.

Please tell the Santa Clarita City Council that you don't want these digital billboards in our city, and then share this with EVERYONE YOU KNOW IN SANTA CLARITA before the MARCH 11th City Council Meeting!