Hearing set on billboards

Friday, Nov. 23, 2001 | 9:13 a.m.

Clark County commissioners on Wednesday scheduled a public hearing on Commissioner Erin Kenny's proposed ordinance governing new billboards in the county.

Kenny's proposal is one of three that commissioners and the public will consider and likely debate Dec. 5. The issue of where to put the signs has been on and off the commission agenda since April.

Kenny's version would eliminate a "billboard overlay zone" that restricts billboards to the central gaming area along the Strip unless the commission grants a special use permit.

The commission in May tabled Kenny's proposal, drafted by her and the billboard industry, amid fears that it would lead to a dramatic increase in the number of billboards countywide. Kenny argued those fears were misplaced. Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates responded in June with another billboard ordinance that would keep the billboard overlay zone in place. The industry argued against that proposal, and it, too, did not have enough votes to pass commission muster.