Scenic Utah's vision: Fewer billboards, more landscape

SALT LAKE CITY — The nonprofit Scenic Utah, led by former Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, has sent a letter to the Federal Highway Administration and the Utah Department of Transportation listing 29 billboards across the state that it finds to be "illegal" or "nonconforming."

The group alleges Utah billboard companies are not complying with the Utah federal agreement on outdoor advertising and are using the Utah Advertising Act to contradict federal law and create an "unfair advantage" for their industry.

"We think that our research has shown that the statutes that are governing outdoor advertising in Utah are some of the most billboard-friendly in the country," Scenic Utah Co-Director Kate Kopischke told the Deseret News. "We're not anti-advertising, but the billboard situation in Utah is completely out of control, and no one's enforcing and so that's really been our advocacy with the Federal Highway Administration."

The nonprofit, whose stated mission is to "protect and enhance the scenic qualities of our communities, landscapes and roadways" around the state, is trying to remove billboards from blocking Utah's picturesque views.

Utah "has attributes in its landscapes, but also in the communities that are visually very appealing," Becker, who is head of the nonprofit's board of directors, told the Deseret News editorial board in a recent meeting. "But (the landscapes) are corrupted too often" by the visual blight of "billboards or huge power lines."

A nonconforming billboard means it was originally installed legally but does not meet laws or regulations after it was installed.

The Deseret News contacted both the Utah Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration about the claims made by Scenic Utah.

"FHWA conducts regular reviews of state outdoor advertising programs as part of general oversight responsibilities under the Highway Beautification Act," a spokesperson for the highway administration said via email. "A review of UDOT's advertising control program is currently in progress. We have heard from Scenic Utah and continue to work with all parties, including the state, on any concerns."

John Gleason, the director of public relations at UDOT, added, "We are following all state and federal regulations regarding outdoor advertising and will continue to work with the FHWA to ensure compliance moving forward."

Beauty vs. business

Dewey Reagan, president and general manager of Reagan Outdoor Advertising — the largest outdoor advertiser from Ogden to Provo — said his company goes to great lengths to ensure procedures are followed correctly and legally.

"We're very, very careful about doing that. In fact, Reagan just paid approximately $66,000 in annual permit fees to UDOT about a month ago," he told the Deseret News. "We get permits on every sign we build."

He emphasized that outdoor advertisers are continually trying to balance commercial interests with the preservation of Utah's scenic beauty.

"It's something that we focus a great deal of time and energy on, Reagan and YESCO both. All of us are constantly looking at ways that we can improve the aesthetics of the product and the technology that's being employed," he added.

The tricky part is that when a city enacts a new, stricter code, all existing signs are rendered nonconforming, and the city's administration of the new regulations can vary significantly.

"One of the obstacles to that is that when you have signs that are nonconforming and were erected at the time the Highway Beautification Act was passed or became nonconforming (after), it's a problem," Reagan said. "Because we would like to improve the way those signs look, but we're limited in what we can do when a sign is nonconforming."

Salt Lake City is not allowing the construction of any new billboards, "and so in many respects, every billboard in Salt Lake is nonconforming because it can't be moved, can't be adjusted. So nonconforming status is very, very common," YESCO Executive Vice President Jeff Young said.

Illegal, nonconforming or simply an eyesore, Scenic Utah shared polling on its website showing that the general public is not in favor of outdoor advertising.

The 2019 poll conducted by the American Institute of Applied Politics found the following statistics, according to Scenic Utah:

• 75% of Utahns agreed with this statement: "Billboards are a total eyesore in our community and they have no redeeming value."
• 79% of Utahns disagreed with this statement: "Billboards are simply a form of advertising, no better, no worse than any other form of advertising."
• 80% of Utahns disagreed with this statement: "Billboards are an important source of information in our community."

But just because some people wish there were fewer billboards, it's not clear what can be done about it. With some exceptions, a person doesn't have to remove a commodity from their property just because others find it unappealing. The Fifth Amendment grants every property owner due process of law.

"When people say, 'Take your billboards down,' because we hear that," there's a pretty simple response, Young explained. "In America, we actually own property, and you can't just tell somebody, I don't like that gas station on the corner, move it, take it down or go somewhere else.

"We stand alongside everyone else in this country who enjoys the freedom and the flexibility and the benefit of owning property."

Utah: A billboard-friendly state

Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson quoted Winston Churchill and built on his remarks when she said, "'First we shape our buildings, and then they shape us.' The same is true of our highways, our parks, our public buildings, and the environment we create. They shape us."

In 1965, led by his wife, President Lyndon B. Johnson worked with lawmakers to enact the Highway Beautification Act.

"I want to make sure that the America we see from these major highways is a beautiful America," President Johnson said when announcing the initiative that would limit outdoor advertising across America's growing highway system.

Utah, with its five national parks, many state parks, mountains with ski resorts, salt flats and red-rock canyons is arguably one of the most geographically stunning states in the country.

Running north to south, Utah's I-15 is a drive that does not lack in scenery — the Wasatch Mountain range, the Great Salt Lake and billboards.

"In 2022 out-of-home spending increased 11% to $1.9 billion nationwide. Sixty-five percent were local advertisers," per Positively Outdoor. "Estimates show that 80% of small businesses would lose business by more than 18% without billboards."

When it comes to starting a business, "You have a much higher chance when you open a business of failing than you do succeeding, and that little bit of additional revenue that comes in from your advertising can make all the difference," Young said.

Young's grandfather, Thomas "Tom" Young, who founded YESCO in 1920, used to say, "Signs are one of the cornerstones of the free enterprise system."

As of yet, neither the Federal Highway Administration nor UDOT has deemed any of the 29 billboards identified by Scenic Utah as illegal or nonconforming. It has been more than a year since the nonprofit submitted its official complaint.

"We don't know if they're going to say everything's fine" or "if they're really looking at some major violations," Kopischke said. "We've been waiting for a very long time."

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