On Friday, May 11th, the Houston METRO Board of Directors convened a special meeting to hear public comments on the future of METRO’s General Mobility Plan, which must be brought before the public for a vote within the next year.
Billboards
Scenic Houston speaks out against turning METRO buses into rolling billboards.
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“Chickens, Signs, and Other Hot Topics” a paper on emerging trends in land use
In a new paper from Alan Bojorquez and Joseph Deeb, the authors outline a list of non-traditional land use and development topics that have been confronting Texas municipalities over the last few years. The paper share insights garnered through their roles as municipal lawyers representing Texas cities. The decision of what to include in this [...]
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After a 14-year fight, Corpus Christi removes advertising from bus benches
The Regional Transportation Authority in Corpus Christi has agreed to remove advertising from 58 bus benches along state roadways. Scenic champion, Jack Gordy, had been arguing for 14 years that these advertisements violate the Federal Highway Beautification Act.
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New video exposes industry tactics to install digital billboards
A new video looks at the efforts of the billboard industry to convert static billboards near Seattle into new digital signs that change advertisements every 6 or 8 seconds. The segment, produced by veteran videographer Ossian Or, can be viewed HERE The tactics represent a desire by the industry to infiltrate an area that has [...]
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Seven illegal billboards forced down in Houston
The City of Houston Legal Department has successfully forced down seven billboards that have existed illegally for many years in the Houston Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). Soon there will “only” be 96 more illegal billboards for the City to remove!
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New study shows billboards hurt nearby property values
Scenic America has released a new study shows that billboards negatively affect the values of neighboring properties. The study also found that cities with strict billboard controls are experiencing greater economic prosperity than those with controls that are less strict.
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New video sheds light on tree cutting around billboards
A new video by Scenic America board member Ossian Or examines the issues of tree cutting and tree poisoning to increase the visibility of billboards.
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Some good news from the U.S. Supreme Court
Los Angeles has been fighting supergraphic billboards and has received some backup from the U.S. Supreme Court. Supergraphic billboards are those buildings-turned-into-multistory-billboards that we’ve managed to avoid here in Houston. So far. In L.A. a case has gone all the way to the Supreme Court and by refusing to hear the case, the court has [...]
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A new website provides an interesting tool for gathering community support for neighborhood improvement.
A website called Neighborland.com, a social media tool for sharing ideas to make your neighborhood better, is part of a new genre of websites and apps designed to democratize what shows up in our communities. The project is currently active in several U.S. cities, including Houston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York. The site provides a [...]