Unpopular Olympus Cove sign removed

After months of massive e-mailing, phone calls, brochures, pressuring and protesting, Millcreek residents finally got what they wanted in the wee hours of Saturday morning — a controversial billboard in Olympus Cove was torn down.

Now those who pass by 4000 South and Wasatch Boulevard have a clearer view of the valley, the mountains, the Olympus Hills mall marquee board and the new hangout for some local birds. Though they got rid of what some residents called an "eyesore" and a "nuisance," the tall, thick, steel pole is still there.

"The sign came down today," said resident Helen Grant. "Now the pigeons are loving it."

A temporary nest, residents hope.

Residents and Salt Lake County Council Chairman Steve Harmsen gathered at the billboard's base Saturday evening — steering clear of the pigeons' range, one neighbor joked — to applaud the sign's removal. The gathering came six months after the council passed a cap-and-bank ordinance, stating that sign companies could take down offensive billboards and "bank" their square footage for three years while scouting other locations. An outright ban was possible if the plan didn't work.

Saturday's action by Dewey Reagan, the billboard company's president who worked closely with the county in creating the ordinance, was considered a, well, positive sign.

"People in Millcreek have been inundated with billboards. They've paid a huge price," Harmsen said. He added that it was a good example of the county helping a community solve a local-but-far-reaching issue. "A lot of people put in a lot of work, and we had some success."

Salt Lake County Planning and Development Services director Jeff Daugherty said considerable pressure has been brought to bear against Reagan Outdoor Advertising to take down the sign, from county leaders to community members.

"I've been getting calls every week," he said.

Reagan was afraid that should the council change the ordinance any square footage that he had banked would disappear, and requested an opinion from the county attorney that that wouldn't happen. That opinion came down last week, so Reagan demolished the "head," or top, of the sign.

"He's done what he said he would do," Daugherty said.

While he has had his doubts, Daugherty says now that the ordinance appears to be working — the overall number of signs allowed has gone down by one (from 104 to 103), and the two most controversial signs — this one and another on Highland Drive put up by Simmons Media — have been removed or relocated.