Settlement Would Reduce Number Of Billboards In Tampa

City officials have proposed a settlement to end a more than decade-old dispute with two sign companies over the number of billboards they can put up around the city.

City attorney Chip Fletcher said the settlement will require CBS Outdoors and Clear Channel Outdoors to take down billboards from so-called "view corridors" - high-view areas where the city wants to maintain aesthetics.

The rub: The companies will be able to replace them with digital billboards in other areas.

"The bottom line is that this will mean fewer billboards in the city," Fletcher said.

Under the terms of the settlement, to be discussed at a city council meeting today, CBS and Clear Channel have agreed to pay the city $25,000 to cover its legal expenses.

The dispute dates back to 1996, when the city signed an agreement with the companies limiting the number of billboards in the city limits. CBS and Clear Channel filed lawsuits against the city in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, challenging the agreement terms.

At issue is whether the outdoor companies have a right to replace billboards that the city has required them to remove over the years. Since the 1996 agreement, Clear Channel has taken down 567 billboards within the city limits; CBS has removed at least 54.

The settlement spells out where the companies can put the digital billboards, their sizes and other requirements and allows the companies to replace a certain number of traditional billboards with the digital ones.

Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, for one, opposes the settlement.

She said the move will mean a proliferation of digital billboards - which look like large television screens and rotate advertisements - that will ruin the city's landscape.

"I believe we should continue to fight this in court," Saul-Sena said.

Representatives for both companies could not immediately be reached for comment.

If the council OKs the settlements, they will be submitted to the circuit court for approval.

The council meets at 9 a.m. in City Hall at 315 E. Kennedy Blvd.