author: Paul Steinhauer

Now after the initial shock and expression of public outrage of the appearance of the billboard, what comes next, as we wait for the lawsuits to go through the court system? The pro-billboard people hope the neighbors will do what people usually do, lose interest and accept the billboard as a normal part of the landscape. This document is for those who are willing to keep working to get the billboard taken down.

Are all the “i”s dotted and “T”s crossed on the legal work for these billboards? Check all government for regulations regarding the new billboard. Were all federal, state, county, and local regulations that apply to this billboard obeyed? What regulations apply to the size of billboards, the distance between them, or their distance from homes or other structures? Our system of laws is complex, the billboard company, the company that built the billboard, or one or more of the public officials that approved the billboard could have made a mistake. Public officials deal with much more than billboards and would be remarkable people if they knew all the applicable laws every time they approve something. Check it out.

Were rules (if any) obeyed that adjoining property owners had to receive notice by registered mail of a public hearing for the special use permit for the billboards?

While this is unlikely to affect only your billboards, think about the primary and general elections this year. Ask candidates for public office, at all levels of government, how (s)he feels about billboard regulation. Take the answers into consideration when voting. A candidate just might have the right contact to solve this problem. State legislative candidates and Cook County Commissioners should be asked why adjoining property owners do not have the right to file legal objections in cases where developers are requesting special use permits, even if the properties are in different jurisdictions. New legislation after the fact will not eliminate these billboards, but it could prevent similar future abuses elsewhere.

Form a neighborhood “citizens awareness network” to keep up on all local issues that interest members. By sharing the tasks of attending government meetings and gathering information on issues and political candidates, each neighbor can keep up with what is going on with less work. You may share information about schools, street maintenance, police and fire protection, whatever concerns you all, even if your opinions differ. If the neighborhood group becomes social as well as political, that sounds like a nice neighborhood to live in.

Billboards exist because they are proven to be an effective way to attract customers. Even without government action, billboards will begin to disappear when advertisers regard them as being increasingly offensive to the buyers they want to attract. Besides asking government to outlaw billboards, people need to change personal buying habits. If an increasing number of people begin to stop buying products and patronizing retailers who advertize on billboards, and let merchants know about it, “litter on a stick” will start to disappear. When more people are willing to make a small sacrifice by no longer buying a favorite brand of blue jeans and avoiding doing business with a local car dealer who advertises on billboards, our scenery will begin to improve.

We would love to see that new billboard (and all the others) come down today, but it is not going to happen. For now, I get personal satisfaction when selecting products and merchants that do not advertise on billboards. An apt cliche is “I am part of the solution, not part of the problem”.

Efforts to eliminate ONLY the billboard visible from your home is inefficient. If each billboard cluster only offends a few people, there is insufficient incentive for advertisers to stop using them. Only when any and all billboards cause MANY customers to spend their money elsewhere will advertisers choose a different medium. Billboard companies around the country cooperate with each other to achieve their goals. One advantage they have is that their opponents are NIMBYs, people who think “not in MY back yard”. People are more effective when they cooperate and think “not in OUR back yards”.

Billboard companies take a long term view. In 1965 Congress enacted the Highway Beautification Act (HBA), which eliminated many billboards, prevented new ones. While hurting, the billboard industry, viewed it as a lost battle, not a lost war. The industry was patient, kept working, and over the years had HBA regulations amended so that once again in increasing numbers the visual pollution of billboards could spread across what we like to think of as “America the Beautiful”. To ultimately be successful, we need to copy the strategy of the billboard companies by working patiently, slowly, AND steadily to promote our point of view.

Be willing to be peculiar. Meeting with a large group to picket relevant meetings and businesses is a wonderful way to get the news media to call public attention to billboard blight. KEEPING peoples attention on the blight requires risking being considered odd by expressing yourself when the rest of those picketers are not with you. For example, when going out to dinner with friends, if they suggest restaurant A, tell them your prefer restaurant B because of “A” advertises on billboards.

Forty years ago recycling was considered peculiar. Now recycling is mainstream behavior. So maybe you will soon be considered “ahead of your time” by the same people who might think that your preoccupation with billboards is peculiar now.

Until a lot of people are willing to “fuss” about billboards, we all are going to be living with them.

Please keep Scenic Colorado informed of your activity, so that others may learn from your experience. If your interest in battling billboards goes beyond your own back yard, Scenic Colorado can definitely use more volunteers.