Planning Commission gets an earful about digital billboards |

The City of Tacoma Planning Commission got an earful Wednesday, at a public hearing about proposed changes to the city's sign code that would allow for the installation of digital billboards.

The changes are proposed as part of a settlement agreement made between the city and Clear Channel last summer following a lawsuit brought by Clear Channel, and would allow Clear Channel to replace some regular billboards with digital ones.

The first change would remove more than 50 standard billboards in exchange for 10 new digital billboards. After that, the boards would be traded out at a 5-to-1 ratio. The agreement would reduce the overall number of billboards in Tacoma – potentially to fewer than 40 total – but would replace them with lit, digital billboards featuring 8-second static advertisements. 

Principal Planner for the city Shirley Schulz likened the billboards to digital picture frames in a public information meeting last week. She said the boards would be very different from the bright, flashing digital boards near I-5.

Schulz also noted last week that digital billboards are "immensely profitable," and Clear Channel really wants to get them built.

Person after person stepped up Wednesday to speak out against the changes, citing concerns about visual blight, driving safety, environmental issues and the precedent of giving in to the demands of a large corporation.

"Changes to our sign code to pacify a large corporation who's been in violation of these codes for 14 years is unacceptable," said Kevn Freitas of Feed Tacoma, a community website that features (among other things) a Clear Channel billboard fine counter. The counter, up to more than $30 million, logs fines owed to the city for non-conforming billboards.

"They're disgusting, they're ugly, they're garish," said Kirsten Lawson. "That's exactly what they're meant to be."

Many concerns centered around plans to install one of the new digital billboards near the five-point intersection of Sixth Avenue, Sprague Avenue and Division Avenue.

"This is one of the most confusing, terrible intersections in town," said Britton Sukys, who lives near the intersection and started the "Turn Out That Light Tacoma" Facebook page in opposition.

Tacoma resident Jill Jensen wondered whether the city and its residents really understand what the changes would mean for the city long-term.

"The cityscape would be permanently marred," she said. Jensen lingered after the meeting, collecting names and e-mail addresses of people who spoke out against the code changes. She said it's time to get organized and spread awareness to the rest of Tacoma.

In addition to the 33 people who spoke Wednesday, Planning Commission Chairman Jeremy Doty said the city has received more than 200 comments so far. They will continue to accept written comment until Friday, March 25 at 5 p.m.

The Planning Commission is expected to pass its recommendations along to the City Council in late May, to be considered by the council around July.

If the city does not come up with language acceptable to Clear Channel, it's back to the beginning to renegotiate the settlement. Likewise, the city also has the power to decide this is not the route it wants to go and restart the process from the beginning.