Divided commission OKs billboard compromise

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001 | 9:18 a.m.

After more than eight months of wrangling, Clark County has a new policy governing where new billboards can go and how far they need to be from homes.

A sharply divided County Commission voted 4-3 to accept an ordinance largely drafted by the billboard industry after the industry's representative, attorney Mark Fiorentino, added compromise amendments to the proposal.

The resulting package restricts most new billboards to the central resort district of the Strip, along Las Vegas Boulevard south and north of the city of Las Vegas, along Blue Diamond Road from Las Vegas Boulevard to Decatur Boulevard and along Interstate 215 from Pecos Road to Durango Drive.

It also requires new signs to be at least 300 feet from existing or planned residential developments.

But the two most significant Fiorentino proposals were a ban on all new signs outside the "billboard overlay" districts and a requirement for County Commission approval for any new signs, regardless of their location.

Three commissioners and a number of speakers, some of whom have fought the billboard battle for months, said the last-minute proposals needed more time for study.

But Fiorentino said the compromise provisions have been debated before, in some cases for months.

"I don't think we snuck anything through," he said. "We tried to compromise, to come up with an ordinance that addressed everybody's concerns."

He said neither the billboard industry nor those fiercely opposed to billboards are entirely happy with the ordinance that the commission passed.

The industry-backed ordinance was one of three on the table Wednesday. County planning staff also had a proposal, opposed by the industry, and the various sides also had drafted a compromise ordinance.

The commissioners adopted the industry ordinance before hearing the second two proposed ordinances.

"I would not feel so affronted if they had considered the compromise," said Lisa Mayo, a community activist who had worked on the compromise package. She said the commission erred in accepting an ordinance without carefully considering the impact it will have.

"We don't know the details," Mayo said.

Some commissioners and members of the county's town boards, who advise the commission on land use issues, agreed that more time was needed.

"If this is a good proposal today, why wouldn't it be a good proposal at our next meeting?" Commissioner Bruce Woodbury asked. "Why does this need to jam through?"

"I saw this one minute before we walked back here," Commissioner Myrna Williams said.

"I feel betrayed to come up here and have a whole new ball game," Enterprise Town Board Chairman John Hiatt said. Hiatt had also participated in workshops trying to craft a compromise.

But Commission Chairman Dario Herrera said most of the industry's amendments were variations on points included in the compromise draft ordinance.

He sided with Commissioners Erin Kenny and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, who both championed the new ordinance. Yvonne Atkinson Gates provided the majority vote.

Kenny and Kincaid-Chauncey said the provisions in the ordinance would go far toward protecting residential neighborhoods from unwanted billboards.

"It seems to me that this protects the residents better than anything else," Kincaid-Chauncey said.

Herrera told onlookers that his wife works in the billboard industry, but county attorney Rob Warhola said a vote for the ordinance wasn't a conflict of interest because the issue affected the entire county, not just a specific company. Herrera has abstained on the long-running debate in the past.

The advocates for the new proposal say the ultimate line of defense for those fearing intrusive billboards will be the County Commission. Because a special use permit is necessary to put up a new sign, nearby residents will get a warning before the commission can approve the sign.

But not everyone is convinced that the commissioners' good intentions will be enough to stop billboards, at least in the overlay zones created Wednesday.

Leo van dar Harst has fought billboards coming in near his home south of Interstate 215, the Las Vegas Beltway, for years. The commission's action could allow billboards a quarter-mile or so from his home near Eastern Avenue.

Van dar Harst said he will now have to be extra vigilant to protest any planned new billboard.