Special issues committee approves electronic billboard ban

In a unanimous vote, the special issues committee approved an amendment to the city sign ordinance banning electronic billboards anywhere within city limits.

The current ordinance only allows billboards to face I-65 and must stay at least 600 feet away from any residential property. The new amendment would not affect electronic billboards currently within city limits, only new constructions.

The committee considered banning all types of new billboards in Homewood, as Ward 3 Place 2 Representative Walter Jones expressed concerns of companies buying existing billboards and converting them to electronic ones. However, they ultimately decided only to ban electronic billboards and make another amendment in the future if necessary.

The committee cited problems such as driver distractions and aesthetics as the reason for the ban. The amendment must be approved by the full council to go into effect.

“My goal is to take down as many as we can,” Jones said.

At the public works committee meeting that followed this decision, the committee considered its options for dealing with the Birmingham Water Works Board. Ward 5 Place 2 Representative Peter Wright said the city has a recurring problem with getting the board to make street repairs in a timely manner.

Wright said the BWWB is not the only organization that does this, but he's hoping that a public spotlight will encourage them to patch streets more quickly after laying pipe.

“It’s broader than Water Works but the reason is they are a principal utility,” Wright said.

The committee wants to mirror the City of Mountain Brook's solution, an ordinance that requires the BWWB to provide temporary patches and the city contracts out the permanent patches. The city can then bill the board for the repairs once they're completed. This would speed up the repair process as the city could choose its contractor and enforce deadlines.

This issue has been carried over to the next committee meeting so the city can get a copy of Mountain Brook's ordinance.