A compromise version of a controversial billboard bill passed a Senate committee Wednesday after losing provisions that could have led to more digital signs along North Carolina highways.
But critics say the bill still would allow too much tree-cutting around billboards and override local regulations.
“We worked very hard at a final product that was fair to everybody, and I think we did that,” said Tony Adams, executive director of the N.C. Outdoor Advertising Association.
The original bill would have allowed advertisers to replace existing billboards with electronic ones and expand the area around them that could be cleared of trees from 250 feet to 400 feet.
The current bill reduces that to 340 feet in municipalities and 380 feet in unincorporated areas. It no longer includes any provisions about digital billboards.
The bill would apply to signs on interstate highways and federally assisted roads such as U.S. 64 and 70 in Wake and other counties.
“It is better than it was before but not something we could support,” said Ben Hitchings, president-elect of the North Carolina chapter of the American Planning Association. “The view from the roadways shape how people feel about our communities … The more we cut down the trees and trade trees for signs … the more we degrade that strategic asset.”
Adams said the industry worked hard in an effort to placate critics.”There are those who would love the industry to disappear,” he said. “But that’s not a fair thing to think.”
Compiled by Jim Morrill of the Charlotte Observer and staff writers Craig Jarvis and John Murawski
Published Thu, Apr 28, 2011 02:00 AM Modified Thu, Apr 28, 2011 06:19 AM
