Council approves billboard ban

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

No new billboards may be built in Boulder City after the City Council voted Tuesday to prohibit them.

The council voted 5-0 to approve changes to the city's sign regulations that ban new billboards and clarify the city's position of not discriminating against signs based on content.

The city attorney and city manager said the new regulations were prompted by a lawsuit filed by a billboard company against the city in federal court.

"This ordinance is primarily in response to the lawsuit with Boulder Sign Company, a company I believe was formed just to bring this suit," City Attorney Dave Olsen said.

Olsen said the approved changes make the lawsuit moot, and he is asking the court to dismiss the case.

The company sued after the city turned down its request to put four new billboards near the city's two traffic lights.

The Boulder City Council's action comes on the heels of the North Las Vegas City Council's request to have their city staff prepare a law to ban new billboards there.

Four months ago the Clark County Commission voted to ban billboards from unincorporated lands outside the county's cities, except along Interstate 15 north of the North Las Vegas city line.

Under the new Boulder City law, businesses would still be allowed to have signs on their own property, and the changes do not apply to existing billboards.

Noncommercial signs, such as political or religious signs, are still allowed, and the $25 fee for permission to put signs around the city, was removed.

Size restrictions that were already in place remain for those allowed signs.