Friday, January 11, 2013
Two billboards along I-35 will soon go digital, a change that took four meetings and hours of sometimes heated discussion.
Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook |Get our newsletter | Write for Local Voices A contentious issue came to a quiet end this Tuesday. Without another word spoken, the Burnsville City Council approved an agreement with Clear Channel Outdoor, which first approached the council in June, asking the city to loosen its billboard ordinances to allow LED displays. In the mid-1980s, Burnsville tightened its sign ordinances, with the ultimate goal of eliminating billboards entirely. The request sparked an unexpectedly lively discussion, with some pro-business elements on the council arguing that the ordinance was outdated and others countering that the deal was not in Burnsville's best interests. Some even went so far as to say that Clear …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The new ordinance allows companies to install digital displays on existing billboards—if they agree to eliminate another billboard somewhere in the city.
It may not be the last time the Burnsville City Council debates the merits of dynamic display billboards in the city, but for now, at least, the issue has been put to rest. On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved an ordinance amendment allowing dynamic display billboards along the city's interstate and arterial corridors. The amendment permits companies to convert existing, traditional billboards in Burnsville into digital signs on the condition that they remove at least one other standing billboard in the city. That "retirement clause"—and lingering divisions between the council members—threatened to once again derail the discussion during the council's regular meeting Tuesday. Burnsville City Councilor Dan Kealey pushed to remove …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The council is expected to hold a public hearing on Tuesday night to discuss whether to allow dynamic display billboards in certain areas of the city.
The question of allowing dynamic display billboards in Burnsville deeply divided the Burnsville City Council during a meeting in June. Tonight, that debate is set to begin anew. During a regular council meeting tonight, the council is expected to hold a public hearing to discuss a proposed ordinance amendment that would allow dynamic display billboards along the city's interstate and arterial corridors. The proposed amendment, as it currently stands, would permit companies to convert existing, traditional billboards in Burnsville into digital signs on the condition that they remove at least one other standing billboard in the city. The new, dynamic display billboards would only be allowed in I-1 and I-2 districts in the city. Only static…
Thursday, June 14, 2012
After a long and tense discussion Tuesday night, the Burnsville City Council was still split 2-3 on the question of loosening the city's policy regarding billboards.
It appears the latest battle royale over billboards in Burnsville is just beginning. On Tuesday night, City Hall was the scene of a heated discussion in which Mayor Elizabeth Kautz described a proposed change to the City Code as an attempt to turn Burnsville into a "billboard sign farm." Council Member Dan Kealey demanded that she retract her statement. She did not. And after two hours, the council was still at a stalemate. The issue of billboards came to the fore last month, when council members were approached by Clear Channel, which asked them to reconsider the use of large LED signs within city limits. Traditionally, the city has taken a hard line against roadside signage. The current ordinance stipulates that all existing billboards …
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Tuesday, the council will consider expanding the use of LED billboards. One Patch reader: "First you get the 'TV screen billboard' and next you get the sound effects. More lights? More noise? We don't need that."
Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook |Get our newsletter | Write for Local Voices They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder: Last month, Council Member Dan Kealey made a brief case for that much-maligned form of roadside advertising—the humble billboard. Tuesday night, the council will pick up the topic again during a worksession. Since the mid-1980s, Burnsville has gradually pruned billboards from the city's landscape as per city ordinance, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them entirely. Kealey argued that the code was perhaps outdated. "Billboards are nothing like what they used to be. They used to be not-a-very-nice looking thing," Kealey said. "Today they're a completely different: They're appealing and they have far …
Joshua
7:35 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012
My magic eight ball says the first regular sign to be surrendered for a new digital sign is the one east of 35-E on CR 11. Just a guess. And the fact that nobody can actually see it. more ›