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| The electronic digital billboard displays multiple ads in its south Maplewood location. Linda Baumeister/Review |
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Digital Clear Channel billboard allegedly installed without proper permit
Maplewood officials say sign violates city ordinances
Katy Zillmer
staff writer
On the tail of a victory for the city of Minnetonka in a lawsuit brought by Clear Channel Outdoor Inc., Maplewood could be the next to take action against the worldwide advertising company if it does not address issues surrounding its new digital billboard along Interstate 494.
Clear Channel recently converted a standard billboard into one that displays LED digital images that change every eight seconds. The billboard is on a hillside above Carver General Repair shop, located south of Highwood Avenue along the freeway.
At night, the electronic billboard resembles an enormous TV screen set against a dark backdrop. It's hard for evening commuters to avoid looking at the bright, clear LED billboard, thus bolstering state troopers and local police officers' contention that electronic billboards are dangerous distractions.
Last fall, Clear Channel's application for a maintenance permit to change the fixtures holding the sign face intact was approved by the City Council, said Shann Finwall, a city planner who works specifically with Maplewood's sign ordinance.
Then in December of last year, Finwall said she received a complaint about a flashing and blinking sign at the location of Clear Channel's billboard and that's when she discovered the company had taken the original sign face off and replaced it with a digital sign that uses LED technology.
City officials were upset, since no changes to the face of the sign were proposed in Clear Channel's permit application, Finwall said.
There are seven other new LED signs in the metro area, including in Minnetonka, Arden Hills, Minneapolis, Bloomington and St. Paul.
Some metro cities have quickly enacted moratoriums on the digital signs to research safety issues and modify ordinances to regulate the new technology.
In Minnetonka, officials were irate that two billboards at Interstates 394 and 494 had been changed to digital screens without their knowledge, so they cut the power to the two structures.
Clear Channel took the matter to court, but its request to have the power turned back on was denied since the advertising company did not obtain Minnetonka's approval to install the electronic signs, according to a judge's ruling in the lawsuit filed in Hennepin County.
Maplewood's response to the new sign has not reached that level, although the city did contact Clear Channel with a request to restore the sign to its original state or apply for a variance to the city's ordinances, Finwall said.
A letter was sent on Dec. 29 to Tom McCarver, Clear Channel's vice president of real estate and public affairs, asserting that the company misrepresented it intentions in the sign-permit application, she said.
A response was requested by Feb. 27. As of last week the city had not been contacted by Clear Channel.
In the Clear Channel vs. Minnetonka lawsuit, a footnote to the case description addresses the status of the company's lack of response to Maplewood's letter.
In court testimony, McCarver stated he never received the Dec. 29 letter from Finwall regarding the new LED sign and was unaware of Maplewood's request that it be converted back to a standard billboard, according to the lawsuit footnote.
Comment from McCarver was not available as of press time.
700-foot technology
If Finwall does not receive a response from Clear Channel this month, she said the next step will be to consult City Attorney H. Alan Kantrud to discuss the matter. "We'd have to talk it over to decide the best plan of attack."
A moratorium on LED signs may be a less likely approach for Maplewood to take. "I'm not sure that we actually need a moratorium because our existing code is pretty clear," Finwall said.
Maplewood's Community Design Review Board has been working on an updated sign code for nearly two years, she said. The sign code was adopted in 1977 and only minor revisions have been made since then.
The current code states that billboards are allowed in commercial areas with a sign permit. A barrier of 250 feet from any residential district and of 800 feet from a residence is also required for any billboards, according to the code.
Mayor Diana Longrie said the city should consider other signs that may have flashing or blinking lights if it addresses the Clear Channel billboard further and what kind of precedent they may set.
"You've got to be consistent in what you're doing and that is always going to be a challenge," Longrie said.
Currently, the code will allow blinking or flashing signs if it is for the purpose of a public service announcement, Finwall said.
Small digital signs are often approved for banks, to display the time and temperature, she said. "Factually, there are some of those signs in Maplewood. But there is no other 700-foot TV screen. It's new technology that was not addressed in the past."
The city's modifications to the sign code will be discussed by the Community Design Review Board on Feb. 13. The new sign-code proposals include various setbacks from residential areas and roadways and a requirement that any new billboard be brought to the City Council for approval.
Although she does not know what Clear Channel's response will be, Longrie said, "If Clear Channel's permit was for maintenance and this is what they have done, how did they get from maintenance to this? That will be a creative argument that we will have to hear."
A question of safety
Despite the issue with Clear Channel's alleged actions of installing the sign without city approval, other complaints such as the impact on road safety, have not come up.
Mike Patrick, an employee of Carver General Repair, said he has not noticed traffic on the adjacent freeway slowing down because of the digital sign. "At first it was kind of bright, but now it's fine," Patrick said.
Any impact of billboards on driver's safety is "inconclusive" at this point, said Kevin Gutknecht, of the Minnesota Department of Transportation communications department.
The Federal Highway Administration is currently studying the safety of digital billboards. But the Minnesota Department of Transportation has already conducted studies and found that the billboards are distracting when the images change every six seconds or less. Clear Channel's billboards are currently in compliance with those guidelines.
A partnership with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Clear Channel to display Amber Alerts, when issued, was announced last month. The alerts for missing children are also aired on radio and television stations, MnDOT highway signs, participating Internet sites, cell phones and through fax machines.
If an Amber Alert is issued, Clear Channel will replace the advertisement schedule on the digital billboards for the first hour and then will remain in the regular image rotation until the alert is over.
Since the digital Clear Channel billboard has been in place, Mayor Longrie said she has not had any specific complaints about safety on the roads.
"Many times when people are driving on a major freeway a billboard is part of that scenery and people become oblivious. Not to say that is good or bad," Longrie said.
Katy Zillmer can be reached at kzillmer@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7822.
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