Scenic Houston led the effort that resulted in Houston City Council's banning the commercial use of cartoonish inflatables, flapping pennants, strands of streamers and similar distracting clutter. While the use of these attention-getting devices (AGDs) has proliferated at businesses of all sizes across Houston, only a tiny fraction of them were legally permitted by the City in 2008.  In our unzoned City where residential areas are not separated from retail and commercial centers, this cleanup will have a very real and immediate impact on our neighborhoods. The ban on AGDs will take effect January 1, 2010.  To see a copy of the new ordinance, click here [1].

Eliminating this prolific use of attention-getting devices will have the following benefits:

• Reduce visual clutter
• Avoid driver distraction
• Enable a business's permanent, on-premises signage to be more visible and effective for that business
• Puts all businesses on a level playing field, thus eliminating the "arms race" mentality to utilize AGDs in response to the competition across the street