The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a letter of “strong opposition” to a new state bill that would would dramatically expand the definition of “customary maintenance” on billboards, allowing sign companies to make substantial changes to those structures without local government review or permitting.“No other structure of this size in the state of California gets that kind of waiver,” Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson said during Tuesday’s meeting.The letter, which the board approved with a 4-1 vote, argues that Assembly Bill 770 would undermine local authority, compromise public safety and endanger environmental and cultural resources. It was placed on the agenda’s consent calendar, meaning it was scheduled to be adopted among a batch of items without specific deliberations, but First District Supervisor Rex Bohn pulled it for discussion.Second District Supervisor and Board Chair Michelle Bushnell said her understanding was that existing billboards already went through the necessary permitting processes, but Planning and Building Director John Ford said that’s not necessarily true.“A lot of the billboards that exist out there were never permitted,” he said, and he vouched for Wilson’s assertion that the bill would essentially allow billboards to be completely rebuilt without local review.Wilson also said the bill could nullify the legal precedent that was established after Viacom Outdoor, Inc. sued the City of Arcata in 2006 after city officials red-tagged billboards that had been toppled by storms, thereby preventing them from being re-erected.Read More
