In a recent post about getting rid of the city's illegal billboards, a reader asked an obvious question: "How do you tell if a billboard is illegal or legal?" Well, per another reader, the above is an example of an illegal billboard. It's a 60 ft. high billboard near the Harbor Freeway downtown. It was cited by the city building department, and yesterday, there was a hearing about it before the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners. After the jump, our reader's report from the meeting.
"This 60 ft. high billboard alongside the Harbor Freeway downtown was the subject of a hearing today by the city’s Board of Building and Safety Commissioners. It was put up over Thanksgiving Day weekend with no permits and no inspections, ostensibly to avoid possible notice by building inspectors whose offices are nearby. Andrew Adelman, general manager of the Building and Safety Department, pointed out that such a billboard is not only illegal because of its proximity to the freeway, but that it would have to meet stringent requirements regarding such matters as foundation, steel, and welding. He called it the most “blatant disregard” of law he had seen in all his years at the building department. When an attorney representing the sign’s owner, L.A. Outdoor Advertising, got up to defend the sign, Commission President Marsha Brown said, “Your client should go to jail.” The attorney said the company is suing the city challenging the constitutionality of its sign regulations. In the meantime, I wouldn’t park my car under the thing or walk anywhere near it. "
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