Twelve billboards will be removed in Little Rock in exchange for the city board approving a deal Tuesday that allows for the conversion of three signs into a digital format.
The Board of Directors authorized the deal in an 8-2 vote. City Directors Kathy Webb and B.J. Wyrick voted against the ordinance.
Lamar Advertising will be allowed to change two billboards along Interstate 630 into electronic signs in exchange for removing two others along Cantrell.
The ordinance allows for up to three signs on I-630 to be altered, but Tom Gibbens, vice president of Lamar Advertising, said his company has plans to alter just two -- one on the south side of the interstate near the Fair Park Medical Clinic and one on the north side near Woodrow Street.
In exchange for being allowed to update another billboard at Kanis and Shackleford roads to electronic, Lamar Advertising will also remove 10 other billboards across the city.
While the exact locations of those 10 signs haven't been decided, Gibbens told the board that the billboards are near parks, schools, day cares and churches. Billboards will be removed in wards 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7.
"We realize sometimes some ads are not appropriate for certain areas, so we think removing them near parks, schools [and] churches is the most sensitive and thoughtful thing we can do," Gibbens said.
Some officials and city residents had questions Tuesday about the safety of digital signs. One resident presented studies that argue that such signs are distracting and a hazard for drivers.
But Gibbens pointed out that there are already 11 digital billboards in the city, and City Attorney Tom Carpenter told the board there are hundreds of digital signs throughout Little Rock, referring to smaller, on-site signs at businesses that are not billboards.
City Director Ken Richardson had been concerned about the brightness of digital signs at night, but said he spoke with Gibbens before Tuesday's meeting and is satisfied with Lamar's policies.
Lamar uses a system that uses auto sensors to keep signs at 0.3 decimals above ambient light -- a guideline adopted by many states.
The advertising company will still have to get approval from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to change the signs on I-630.
When Lamar Advertising removes 12 of its signs, that will be permanent and will reduce the city's cap on billboard permits from 198 to 186. Lamar owns the majority of those permits.
Voting in favor of the ordinance Tuesday were City Directors Brad Cazort, Doris Wright, Dean Kumpuris, Gene Fortson, Joan Adcock, Erma Hendrix, Lance Hines and Richardson.
Metro on 04/06/2016