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October 24, 2007 Canyon Lake Times Guardian - October 24, 2007 issue – Vol. 37 No. 43 See Pictures of Signs Comal County regulation of off-premises billboards not allowed – yet! By Crystal Gottfried - Staff Writer No one can dispute the fast-paced growth in Comal County which contributes to traffic congestion, continuous construction, and more off-premises billboards touting new subdivisions, new stores, and sometimes, just the fact that they are there. That makes many resident taxpayers especially angry so citizens have been contacting their local county officials trying to get them to put a stop to it. |
199 Main Plaza, New Braunfels, Texas 78130 Phone: 830-221-1100 Fax: 830-608-2026 |
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The e-mail messages and mailed letters are quite scathing and accuse our county’s commissioners of “being idiots who have no gumption or intelligent foresight to stop this blight on our county;” to quote just one e-mail message that was sent to Precinct 4 Commissioner Jan Kennady. The problem is, Comal County Commissioners Court has no authority to regulate the placement or construction of off-premises billboards in the county. Texas Senator Jeff Wentworth and District 73 House Representative Nathan Macias were asked for input for this article on local governmental controls over billboard construction and Sen. Wentworth was kind enough to respond on September 27. “Unfortunately, Texas counties have virtually no authority to regulate billboards within their boundaries,” he wrote. “Current law allows incorporated areas, such as cities and the Harris County Toll authority, to regulate outdoor advertising, including billboards, through delegated TxDOT authority. This authority extends into each city or town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. No such authority exists in other areas of a county.” “As a former county commissioner, I understand the importance of local government and giving counties the regulatory tools to prohibit billboards on certain roads if that is what the county residents desire, but thus far, the Legislature has not seen fit to do so,” Wentworth continued. “During the 80th Legislative Session, I filed Senate bill 1633 to prohibit future billboards on any highway in the state highway system in Comal County. The bill was referred to the Senate Transportation Committee, of which I am a member, but did not receive a hearing. Also, Sen. Jan Nelson filed Senate Bill 137 that would have given counties the option to protect certain roads by prohibiting billboards. The bill was unanimously voted out of committee but was never brought up for a vote by the full Senate.” Comal County Commissioners Court has been actively arguing this issue with the state legislature for several years. Former Texas District 73 House Representative Carter Casteel was able to work with State Senator Frank Madla to protect some roads in the district. “This is as tough as any environmental issue,” said Casteel. “Legislators believe in the property rights of individuals. They can put whatever they want on their property. It’s a balancing act between regulating billboard construction and keeping property owners’ rights.” Casteel was able to get legislators to set aside one significant section of US Hwy 281 between the southern boundary line of Comal County and State Hwy 306 and protect it from new billboards, effective as of September 1, 2005. “Bandera County was the most effective is banning all new billboards along their scenic highways,” said Casteel. “The community presented a united front of politicians, community leaders, business people and citizens from all walks of life. They pressured their District 123 House Representative Mike Villareal, so every Bandera County road that is part of the state highway system, three state highways and eight farm-to-market roads were protected. This was done at the request of a Bandera County coalition interested in economic development and an end to billboard construction in the region.” So, the key to billboard regulation seems to be citizen participation. Commissioner Kennady took the proverbial, “bull by the horns” in December 2005 and with the help of Carroll Shaddock of Scenic Texas, organized a Citizens’ Billboard Coalition. The coalition did their best to influence legislators during the 80th Legislative Session, by writing letters and sending e-mail messages asking for them to grant county authority over the number and placement of billboards in Comal County. But, as Sen. Wentworth attested, the legislature did not see fit to hear or respond to their pleas. Knowing that the road to county authority over billboards is long and fraught with disappointment, Comal County Commissioners Court passed two resolutions, in February and June 2007. Resolution 2007-04 supported “legislation that would protect and preserve the natural vista by limiting off-premise signage on state highways within Comal County;” and since the county “depends greatly on tourism to create significant economic benefits,” asked legislators to grant them authority because “the proliferation of off-premise signage greatly detracts from the beautiful country scenery enjoyed by the visitors as well as the residents in Comal County.” Resolution 2007-18 “urgently requested that the Texas Department of Transportation Board of Variance uphold the decision to deny the placement of a billboard on FM 306, near Canyon Lake.” Unfortunately, the billboard went up. Commissioners Court did not stop there. They had the county District Attorney, Geoff Barr create a new law and deliver it to legislators in Austin. “I represented Commissioners Court regarding their unanimous Resolution 2007-04 last February asking the legislature to regulate off-premises billboards like the new one [SignAd] on FM 2673,” said Barr. “The resolution told the legislative people that Comal County took this move because of the beauty of what the Hill country provides. These huge off-premises signs detract from that beauty.” “We asked the legislature to help us protect FM 2722, FM 306 and FM 3159 – three roadways that haven’t been visually “impacted” yet,” Barr continued. “We were not asking for carte-blanche regulation either; we knew we couldn’t do anything about signs that were already there.” “The Legislature had property rights issues – but that argument goes both ways,” said Barr. “The person who owns the property has the right to erect an off premises billboard on his property and the next-door property owner has the right not to have to look at a huge sign adjacent to his property. The biggest deal is that the legislature has a hard time telling a property owner what he can or cannot do with his property.” The fact that our Comal County elected officials have no authority, either to limit the installation of the signs or to ensure that they are not installed “right on top of each other” along our otherwise scenic roadways, seems unconscionable. Sen. Wentworth, like county commissioners, is not giving up. “Despite my efforts, no advances have been made in the last two years that would enable counties to regulate billboards,” said Wentworth. “…it makes sense to me that those counties [that become more urbanized] should have some of the same regulatory powers afforded municipalities. Unfortunately not enough of my legislative colleagues share that opinion and my efforts to give county commissioners courts that authority have, so far, not come to fruition. I intend to keep trying.” How can citizens get involved with their elected officials to organize an effective coalition to sway property owners who are hoping to “cash-in” on the large payoffs that sign companies offer to get their billboards installed on private property in otherwise scenic areas like the Texas Hill Country, along U.S. Hwy 281 in Comal County, and on roadways around Canyon Lake? Sen. Wentworth plans to continue working to protect the scenic beauty of Texas Hill Country highways. “Billboard regulation will be a top priority of the Senate Transportation committee next session,” he wrote. “Citizens may attend a public hearing to be held on Nov 28, or may submit written comments to their representatives and to the Transportation commission, regarding the proposed rules, until Dec. 7. This commission will also study the newest type of billboards, Light-emitting diode or LED, billboards.” Citizens may get involved through participation in nonprofit organizations such as the Comal County Billboard Coalition and Scenic Texas, whose mission is the “preservation and enhancement of our state’s visual environment.” The Scenic Texas website, www.scenictexas.org, contains helpful information on billboards issues and gives citizens ideas on who to contact, how to write their letters, and what progress is being made. The Comal County Billboard Coalition has 35 members who have agreed to work as hard as they can to limit billboard construction in the county by writing letters, meeting with state officials, and creating other means to get more county citizens to join in their efforts. But as Commissioner Kennady points out: “In 2009, we will need to deal with this issue again at the 81st Legislative session; if it’s not too late!” What seems to be a big problem for county governments is that the billboard lobbyists for the large billboard companies have a huge presence in Austin. So anytime a bill is created to limit the construction of new billboards, or is sent to the Transportation Committee for review, the lobbyists are ready to argue against it citing property rights issues and the inappropriateness of legislating property use by owners. Commissioner Kennady thinks that large numbers of citizens joining together can overcome the billboard lobbyists’ arguments in Austin. “We’re not saying to legislators, ‘no more billboards’,” she said. “We just want them to let us in county government have the authority to regulate the size and spacing so they don’t ruin every view in this county.”
CONTACT: Hon. Jan Kennady
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