New billboard rules attract foes

Tuesday, May 1, 2001 | 10:45 a.m.

People look at billboards every day, but they don't necessarily want them in their neighborhoods.

Those who want to speak out on billboards one way or the other will have their chance Wednesday, when the Clark County Commission holds a public hearing before a possible vote on new rules.

Some billboard opponents fear that the new rules will mean more billboards countywide. The opponents are trying to block immediate approval by the County Commission.

Don Krueger, point man for the billboard industry and vice-president of Connell Outdoor Advertising, said the commission may not vote immediately on the proposal.

Commissioner Myrna Williams said two weeks ago during the proposal's introduction that more time is needed for public review and comment.

Lining up against the measure are members of the county's town boards, groups that advise the commission on land-use issues. M.J. Harvey, chairwoman of the Paradise Town Board, said she will oppose the ordinance.

Harvey is concerned that the ordinance could lead to a proliferation of billboards outside the Strip, which by county law they are restricted to now unless a company gets a waiver from the commission.

Harvey and other town board members also say they were cut off from discussions on the new ordinance.

Also opposed to the measure are some environmentalists, including Peggy Pierce, co-chairwoman of the conservation committee of the local arm of the Sierra Club.

Pierce is concerned that scenic vistas might be obscured by billboards under the ordinance.

"We're opposed to it," she said. "At a time when every other community is rolling back the number of billboards, it seems odd that we would be going in the other direction.

"It would be a shame that roads that are pleasant to travel on now, because they have a decent view, might be spoiled by billboards," she said. "It's hard to get people to appreciate the desert if they can't see it."

Finally, the county's own planning staff has expressed reservations about the ordinance, which staff members have said could substantially increase the number of billboards throughout unincorporated areas.

But Commissioner Erin Kenny and representatives from the billboard industry, who together drafted the new ordinance, argue that the new rules would actually cut the number of new billboards.

Kenny, who did not immediately return phone calls Monday, previously said she has commitments from the advertising companies to reduce the number of billboards in the core area, roughly bordered by Decatur Boulevard on the west, Paradise Road on the east, Sahara Avenue on the north and the Beltway on the south.

The area, largely commercial, has dozens of billboards. Kenny has said she is concerned about the visual clutter in the area, which also is home to most of the region's largest resorts.

Proponents of the new ordinance argue that new residential separation restrictions -- tripling the current restriction to 300 feet from homes, and 150 feet from apartments -- will protect residential areas from unpleasant billboards.

The advocates for the new rules also argue that the provision requiring all new billboards go before the county commission for approval adequately protects the community from proliferation of intrusive billboards.

"Any time there's a change and it's about billboards, it's assumed it's going only one way," Krueger said. "The residential separations are three times as stringent as they are now ... There's no threat to residential areas, no grove of billboards."

If the law does pass, both sides are likely to quickly get a taste of what the new ordinance will bring.

A backlog of applications for at least 12 new billboards from various companies is scheduled for public hearing immediately after the ordinance is scheduled for discussion and possible commission vote.

Half of the new billboards would be in Spring Valley in the southwest Las Vegas. The Spring Valley Town Board and the county planning staff have recommended denial for all of them.

At least three of the new billboards would be in the Enterprise township, also in the valley's southwest. The Enterprise Town Board and county staffers also have recommended denial.