Salt Lake County may cap number of billboards

New billboards could become an anomaly in Salt Lake County.

Under a proposed billboard ordinance, the number of billboards allowed in the county will be capped at 107 — the number currently existing or approved. Billboards within the neighborhood commercial zone, C-1, would also be required to receive a conditional-use permit before being built.

The new ordinance will be circulated to the county's township planning commissions for their advice and consent and then will need to be approved by the Salt Lake County Council. Public hearings will be held before the planning commission and council decisions.

The new ordinance was unveiled last week, one day after a six-month moratorium on billboard approvals expired. All new billboard applications will be subject to the proposed ordinance.

The new ordinance also contains incentives for billboard companies to improve their existing signs or relocate them to more suitable areas. Councilman Russell Skousen said that by providing those types of incentives, the county can improve its visual environment without having to spend the money needed to acquire and remove billboards.

"We have all of these billboards that are up, and we want to give them an incentive to move," Skousen said. "It is extremely prohibitive for us to buy these signs."

Some council members also hoped that by requiring a conditional-use permit for signs in the C-1 zone, they would eventually eliminate the signs from those areas. Often, the signs are attached to small retail outlets that border residential areas.

Councilman Jim Bradley said if the signs were permitted in the C-1 zone without having to be individually approved by a county or township planning commission, the county could see an explosion of signs adjacent to neighborhoods. Before granting a conditional-use permit, the planning commissions would also need to hold a public hearing, giving residents an opportunity to voice their concerns.

"If you allow it to be a permitted use with just a list of requirements, you're asking for trouble," he said.

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