\u201cBoth bills ignore the fact that most towns and cities already ban the addition of new billboards, and that 248 towns and cities, represented by the Utah League of Cities and Towns, oppose this legislation,\u201d says Scenic Utah\u2019s Kate Kopischke, who is leading a campaign to put a stop to the bills. \u201cNo other state in America has adopted statutes so comprehensive and detrimental to communities as this.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
As Kopischke notes, the bill takes away local control over billboards, restricting or all together eliminating communities\u2019 ability to mitigate their negative impacts. The bills also raise safety and environmental concerns, and a range of issues related to dark sky protection. (Utah has the highest concentration in the world of International Dark Sky parks, and dozens of communities are recognized for their quality night skies.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Scenic Utah acted quickly to galvanize the scenic-minded public to speak out on these measures, urging them to contact their senators and house members to oppose the bills. Within just a few days, hundreds of Utahns took action, flooding their elected officials with emails and phone calls. Local media took note and reported on the topic. A petition page on Scenic America\u2019s website attracted more than 2,000 page views!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Legislators have taken note of the opposition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n At the SB61 committee meeting, members raised concerns about various provisions and directed Sen. Sandall to work with the bill\u2019s proponent, Dewey Reagan of Reagan Outdoor Advertising, and the Utah League of Cities and Towns to draft a revision. Sen. Dan McCay, for example, raised questions about the negative impact of digital billboards on homes and neighborhoods, saying if such concerns were not addressed in a revision, he would vote NO in a floor vote. But despite committee members\u2019 reservations, McCay and all but two of other members voted to send SB61 to the full senate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Since then, the bill has undergone two revisions, amid a continuing barrage of opposition spearheaded by Scenic Utah and the League. In a Senate floor vote on Feb. 24, it failed \u2013 to the surprise and delight of opponents. After a short-lived celebration, Kopischke said, the Scenic Utah team is preparing for Reagan lobbyists to send the bill back to the Floor \u2018reconsideration\u2019.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cIndustry is probably on the warpath right now,\u201d she said. \u201cWe aren\u2019t letting our guard down; these bills tend to come back in the very last days of the session, where leadership can push them through quickly, without further debate.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In the meantime, SB144 \u2013 also backed by Reagan \u2013 remains on the Senate\u2019s calendar. This bill, which also failed its first vote and came back for reconsideration, contains a provision that prevents local governments from even suggesting<\/em> to landowners that there may be a better use of their property than hosting a billboard.. Scenic Utah and others consider it a \u2018revenge bill\u2019 aimed at Salt Lake City for buying out a downtown billboard that a lessor no longer wanted on his property. A lawsuit filed by Reagan over that case against the city and then Mayor Ralph Becker (a Scenic America Board member), was recently dismissed by a US District Court.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n SB144 sponsors are apparently working on revisions that sponsors say \u2018should address\u2019 the significant opposition. But in Scenic Utah\u2019s view, any compromise on either bill would still be a huge giveaway to industry \u2013 and a huge loss for Utah and its scenic vistas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n With just one week left in the session, Kopischke says Scenic Utah is carefully tracking the bills\u2019 last-minute movements as they\u2019re revised and \u2018negotiated.\u2019 We\u2019re maintaining our full court press to defeat these scorched earth bills,\u201d she said. If they come up again, \u201cwe\u2019ll be there, guns blazing!\u201d <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Utah may be known for its majestic scenery and stunning landscapes, but if state legislators get their way, the Beehive State may soon be known for one of the most damaging billboard laws in the nation. On January 19, 2021, Sen. Scott Sandall introduced SB61, allowing any billboard owner in Utah to upgrade their billboards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-billboards","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/develop-scenic-america.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/billboard-blight4-1-1024x665.jpg\")
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