BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
Redwood City Council is looking to place a digital billboard along Highway 101 to raise money for the city government. But a councilwoman raised concerns about whether the billboard would be used for political ads
Council voted 5-2 on Monday (June 23) to move forward with placing a digital billboard at 350 Convention Way. Councilwomen Marcella Padilla and Kaia Eakin voted no.
Padilla said the billboard would divide the community with political ads.
Padilla said that moving forward would be like opening a Pandora’s box, where if the council were to agree to place the billboard, it would generate problems in the future.
“This isn’t something the public opts in for, it’s being right there in their face,” Padilla said. “These towering screens demand attention in ways the public has not consented to. Digital billboards impose themselves on everyone.”
Padilla made a suggestion to possibly ban political ads, but City Attorney Veronica Ramirez said the city cannot regulate the content placed on billboards.
The ads would be sold by Outfront-Foster Interstate, which will operate the billboard. Ramirez said the city can talk with the company about what kind of ads they will sell.
In 2007, the city banned billboards. On Oct. 14 council discussed potentially allowing a billboard and were open to receiving requests for proposals for possible locations along Highway 101. The city received eight proposals from four companies, according to Assistant City Manager Patrick Hesinger.
The four companies were Lamar, Clear Channel Outdoor, Champion Outdoor and Outfront-Foster Interstate.
Hesinger said Outfront-Foster Interstate had the best proposal. It offered the city an ad space for eight seconds every quarter for two weeks and would receive $250,000 annually.
Padilla said that not only will it be pushing content to drivers, but it could distract them and have negative effects on the environment.
The proposed billboard would be near the Monterra Credit Union corporate office at 350 Convention Way and the Redwood Creek.
Eakin agreed with Padilla that the billboard could detract from Redwood City’s charm.
“We should be celebrating our Bay. And this sign is just doubling down on 20th-century notions of just freeways, advertising,” Eakin said.
Eakin said council members should think about how this could affect the existing ordinance that was passed. She suggested that members look back at why it was placed in the first place.
Eakin said she was also concerned that drivers going 60 miles per hour would be distracted by the sign and not pay attention to the road.
Eakin compared Highway 101 to Interstate 280 and said that there is a reason why there are no billboards along 280. Eakin said that when driving on 280, people can enjoy nature and aren’t bombarded with billboards every few miles.
Councilwoman Isabella Chu said Highway 101 is already congested with buildings.
Councilman Chris Struken asked if an existing billboard could be removed when the new one goes up. Outfront-Foster has three billboards in the city.
Alex Belenson, manager of Outfront-Foster, said that the exchange isn’t possible because the company gets different revenue at each location.
Hesinger said the billboard is a way for the city to make money, but it is only one tool in their tool belt. The billboard would not solve all of the city’s problems, and there are other ways to make money.
The process of approving the billboard and placement is estimated to take nine months, according to Hesinger. The billboard would have to go through an environmental review, and then it would return to the council for discussion.
It was a hard-fought grass-roots battle spanning several years to get rid of the big billboards. They’re attention-grabbers by Design. Taking motorists’ mind away from the road and potential traffic hazards. And this proposed new big electronic one would be especially attention-grabbing, again by Design. As taxpayers, we are paying tens of millions of dollars to make Bayshore Freeway safer right here in the RWC area (such as the new funding to make the Woodside Road interchange safer, just announced yesterday).
Let the politicians in City Hall find other things to do, other than increasing highway distractions and the danger of driving here on the Peninsula. Thank you.
My thanks to Padilla and Eakin for standing with the people.
Very disappointed with Elmer Martínez Saballos, Isabella Chu, Jeff Gee, Diane Howard, and Chris Sturken for voting for the billboards on 101.
Howard and Sturken are up for reelection next year.