Comments on: A Sign of Improvement http://fluidimagination.com/blog/2008/05/16/a-sign-of-improvement/ Melting down disparate elements to form a new reality. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:29:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Kyle http://fluidimagination.com/blog/2008/05/16/a-sign-of-improvement/#comment-58932 Kyle Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:50:26 +0000 http://fluidimagination.com/blog/?p=1868#comment-58932 Jesse just sent me <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94023551" rel="nofollow">this NPR story</a> that serves as a reminder of why Vermont's no-billboard law is so great. Here's the gist, but read the whole story: "'The billboards were there first, and the trees started popping up, and they were done so in a way that they would block the view of the billboard,' [said the head of the Orlando division of Clear Channel Outdoor]. He argued that by planting the trees where it did, the [local] government was acting unfairly. 'It's like, 'Hey, we're going to give you a permit to be in business, but then we're going to take it away after you've already invested all this money.' "...Clear Channel and other billboard companies complained that beautification projects on a number of Florida roads threatened their business, so they lobbied the state Legislature for protection.... "In 2006, lawmakers drafted a bill to outlaw the planting of trees on the public right-of-way in front of billboards. Each sign would be guaranteed a 500-foot-long view, uninterrupted by a single branch of leaf.... [T]he Legislature passed the law." The story continues with appeals and compromises and silent protests, but the fact that any of this actually happened is just one of the many reasons why I'm thankful I don't live in Florida. Jesse just sent me this NPR story that serves as a reminder of why Vermont’s no-billboard law is so great. Here’s the gist, but read the whole story:

“‘The billboards were there first, and the trees started popping up, and they were done so in a way that they would block the view of the billboard,’ [said the head of the Orlando division of Clear Channel Outdoor]. He argued that by planting the trees where it did, the [local] government was acting unfairly. ‘It’s like, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you a permit to be in business, but then we’re going to take it away after you’ve already invested all this money.’

“…Clear Channel and other billboard companies complained that beautification projects on a number of Florida roads threatened their business, so they lobbied the state Legislature for protection….

“In 2006, lawmakers drafted a bill to outlaw the planting of trees on the public right-of-way in front of billboards. Each sign would be guaranteed a 500-foot-long view, uninterrupted by a single branch of leaf…. [T]he Legislature passed the law.”

The story continues with appeals and compromises and silent protests, but the fact that any of this actually happened is just one of the many reasons why I’m thankful I don’t live in Florida.

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