One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Activists Do Their Own Guerrilla Enforcement of Illegal Billboards
As seen at Lincoln and Brooks in Venice this week | Reader Submitted Photo
Back in December, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case between the city of Los Angeles and Fuel Outdoor, a billboard company responsible for many of the poster-sized signs at corners all over Los Angeles. At issue was a 2002 city off-site sign ban, which meant Fuel signs were in violation. They challenged the city and lost in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now, more than a month later, violation notices with the Los Angeles city seal are being posted on Fuel-owned signs. However, city officials say they didn't do it. "Looks to me that we've got renegade sign bandits," said Bob Steinbach, a public information officer with the Department of Building & Safety. "If we post them, there'd be contact info on them."
Dennis Hathway, who follows the billboard issue closely and is the Executive Director of the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight said his organization does not endorse such actions, but isn't surprised to see the guerilla notices. "If this was a community action, it shows how fed up people are with the fact the city hasn't been able to do anything about these illegal signs, even though the company has lost all its court appeals," he said.
Steinbach was not immediately aware of how the city would deal with Fuel's illegal signs.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
