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Iorio Flips On Billboard Flap

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2009

TAMPA - In an unexpected move, Mayor Pam Iorio has changed direction on a proposed settlement with two advertising companies, saying that she wants to remove a provision in the agreement allowing them to replace traditional billboards with digital displays.

In an e-mail to city council members, Iorio said she has instructed City Attorney Chip Fletcher to return to the negotiating table with CBS and Clear Channel Outdoors and work on a settlement that separates the issue of traditional billboards from digital.

"The city may grapple with the issue of digital billboards and outdoor advertising, but that discussion needs to be separate from our current litigation," Iorio said in the e-mail.

"We want to reduce visual blight in our community," she added.

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

Under the terms of the settlement, CBS Outdoors and Clear Channel Outdoors would be required to take down traditional billboards in "scenic corridors." In exchange, they would be allowed to replace them with digital billboards in other areas throughout the city.

But neighborhood groups and some council members complained the deal would mean a proliferation of digital billboards — large, television-like screens that display multiple advertisements — ruining the city's visual landscape and creating public safety issues.

Council members Linda Saul-Sena and John Dingfelder in particular had criticized the Iorio administration for trying to force a policy change under the guise of a settlement.

"I'm so pleased that the mayor shares council's position on visual blight," Saul-Sena said Friday. "Now we need to have a discussion on reducing the number of billboards."

In previous meetings, opponents of the settlement such as the group Scenic Florida have packed city council chambers to voice their opposition to the arrangement.

Because of that, the council has delayed a vote on the settlement three times.

Iorio said that discussion has helped changed her position on the settlement.

"It has helped us focus on the issue of regulation of digital signage," she said.

Both companies have declined to comment on the proposed settlement.

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