City Council Bans All Mobile Billboards

The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday unanimously approved a ban on all , including those on trailers or attached to cars, mopeds or bikes.

The 14-0 vote approved an ordinance that, if signed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, would give traffic officers the authority to issue warning citations and ultimately impound billboards and the vehicles attached to them.

The law requires the city to issue a warning at least 24 hours before impounding a vehicle. A mobile billboard is defined as "an advertising display that is attached to a mobile, non-motorized vehicle, device, or bicycle that carries, pulls, or transports a sign or billboard, and is for the primary purpose of advertising."

A second citation and impoundment would be handled as a misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $250 and a maximum six month jail sentence.

Councilman Mitch Englander, who introduced the motion calling for the ordinance, said the billboards "pose significant traffic safety hazards for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and handicap people." Englander represents Council District 12 which includes Chatsworth.

He said the billboards also reduce the availability of on-street parking and impair the visibility of drivers.

Englander called the ordinance, "sensible, narrowly-tailored legislation."

However, , who owns Lone Star Security & Video Inc. in the San Fernando Valley, told the council the ordinance is a violation of the First Amendment. He said the law is flawed because it gives traffic officers the authority to determine what is a mobile billboard and does not allow sign owners the ability to argue their cases.

Assemblyman , D-San Fernando Valley, authored state legislation that gave cities the authority to regulate mobile billboards, which he likened to spam advertising on the Internet.

"This new (state) law give you quite a lot of authority to deal with these things," Blumenfeld told the council.

-- City News Service