No flashing billboards in St. Johns County, please

Posted November 13, 2016 12:03 am
By Cliff Skarr St. Augustine
GUEST EDITORIAL: A digital sign debacle on County agenda
St. Augustine Record

Eighteen years ago, I volunteered to help write the original 1998 sign ordinance. I spent 18 months of my life attending weekly meetings where we discussed, argued and finally compromised with the billboard industry. The agreements we drafted back then have certainly enhanced the scenic beauty of St. Johns County.

Now, some of today’s county commissioners appear to be advocates for the billboard industry. Rather than offering to strengthen our existing sign ordinance, they want to allow “digital billboards” and add another layer of billboard blight to our community. These billboards will be larger than the illegal non-conforming boards in our present ordinance.

At this week’s St. Johns County Commission meeting, staff announced it wants to change our present sign ordinance to comply with a new U.S. Supreme Court decision. Discreetly added to this compliance was a two year trial period of digital billboards along the Interstate 95 corridor. Where is the crying need for these boards? It certainly isn’t coming from the citizens of our county.

I do not have a problem with changing our sign ordinance to be consistent with new case law from the high court. I do have a problem with this stealth attempt to try and include these digital billboards along with these changes. To include both of these items in the sign code revision is both shameless and deceitful. These are two separate issues and should be dealt with at separate times.

The original ordinance has a workable “swap down” provision to limit the blight of billboards in our county. The commission wants to decrease the swap down provision of one new billboard from five (as suggested by staff) to four.

Also, after the proposed two-year trial period, who will make the decision if digital billboards should be expanded to other portions of our county? What criteria will they use for their ruling?

If you don’t think a flashing billboard with a message changing seven times a minute is not distracting, then you’re a fool.

The singular purpose of digital billboards is to distract the motorist every time it changes its message. It’s a fact that vehicle accidents and deaths have risen recently on I-95. Talking and texting on cell phones are major factors in these accidents, and now they want to add more distraction with digital billboards.

Instead of opening up a new venue for sign blight in our county, let’s continue to reduce the number of billboards along our highways. We have something unique and special here in St. Johns County. Let’s protect and keep it that way!

Citizens of St. Johns County, if you oppose these digital billboards, please contact your commissioners or attend the next meeting and let them know your views. This is not Orlando or Jacksonville. This is your county and your opinion does matter.