Council will hold a public hearing about new billboard regulations tonight (CB 80), and there appear to be some misconceptions out there about the bill.
Community Planning and Development (CPD) originally presented the Blueprint Denver Committee with a zoning language amendment to clarify portions of the sign code regarding billboards (general outdoor advertising). As part of that discussion, the subject of LED signs came up. The code currently does not specifically address LED signs, and four such signs have been issued permits. The Committee directed CPD to add a prohibition of LED billboards and make existing ones nonconforming. The bill as filed contains the following language:
Outdoor general advertising devices may not have message surfaces made entirely or partly of light emitting diodes (LEDs). Any general outdoor advertising device with one or more LED message surfaces that was permitted prior to March 1, 2010, shall be considered a nonconforming general outdoor advertising device and shall be allowed to continue in operation and be maintained in accordance with the provisions of section 59-572. The LEDs on such device may not flash, blink or fluctuate, or change in any manner more frequently than once per hour, must be dimmed at dusk and may not be lit between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 6 a.m.
