There has been a billboard ban in the city limits of Columbus for 14 years. That may soon change on Highway 45 North and portions of Highway 182 in East Columbus.
City councilmen tabled consideration of lifting the ban Tuesday during their meeting after discussing the matter for the first time in almost 10 months.
It was at that time that Columbus City Council Attorney Jeff Turnage and Columbus Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong said they would draft a proposed exemption from the ban that would only apply to areas in the city zoned Highway Commercial. That would include all property in those zones, city-owned or otherwise.
On-premise billboards, or signs advertising services provided on the property where the sign is, are permitted. The exemption would allow for off-premise billboard advertising, most typically large-format sign advertising.
Councilmen had a copy of that draft Tuesday. It proposes 11 regulations for parties interested in erecting billboards in permitted areas.
The billboards could not be placed closer than 1,000 feet within each other in any direction and can be a maximum of two single-sided panels or one double-sided panel.
The sign itself could not be bigger than 400 square feet and couldn’t be closer than 50 feet from the right-of-way of any public street. It could not be more than 40 feet above the road and couldn’t have beacons, banners or similar features. Digital billboards would be allowed as long as the message doesn’t change more than once every eight seconds.
Turnage said Tuesday that the city has been approached by Leonard Busby, owner of digital billboard company Busby Companies out of Laurel. The company already has a digital billboard installed on Cleda Drive near Lion Hills Golf Club and has shown interest in placing more billboards in the city, Turnage said, adding that Busby is not in favor of the 1,000-foot rule being in all directions.
Councilman Charlie Box suggested that allowing billboards in the city that were not already grandfathered in before the ban may distract drivers.
“Why do we need a bunch of those signs stuck up all over town?” Box asked. “We’ve had a sign ordinance for a long while and it seems to be working pretty good. Those signs give off a lot of light. It looks to me like they would distract drivers and may even be a safety hazard.”
Turnage then said the matter should be discussed in executive session instead of open session because it may involve prospective litigation. Councilman Bill Gavin moved to table the matter until the council’s next regular meeting on Oct. 21.
Peer cities allow billboard advertising with conditions similar to the ones proposed in the draft. Meridian and Starkville each limit the height signs can be to 45 feet, while Tupelo allows up to 35-foot boards. Tupelo allows billboards up to 400 square fee, Meridian allows up to 600 square feet and Starkville allows up to 288. Signs must be at least 500 feet apart in Tupelo and Meridian. In Starkville, there must be at least 2,640 feet between billboards.
Permit fees in Columbus for installation of any sign over 100 square feet are $75.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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