New San Carlos billboard calls for old sign’s removal

“I’ve been so upset about this issue since I heard about it almost two months ago,” Keynejad said.

According to City Planner Lisa Costa Sanders, a city policy limiting the number of billboards in San Carlos requires those looking to create a new billboard to remove one before they can begin construction. As the owner of the billboard on Keynejad’s property, the decision is Clear Channel’s as to which sign the company decides to take down to make room in the citywide billboard cap, Costa Sanders said. The proposed new digital billboard would be at 815 American St., where a landscape supply store currently stands, according to the city.

Keynejad’s lawyer Bill Garrett said the city’s policy allows the city to lease land from the American Street property owner then offer it to Clear Channel to build the new billboard. The problem, said Garrett, is it unfairly cuts out Keynejad, who was earning the full advertising revenue from the sign per his lease agreement with Clear Channel, which was a revenue source he counted on when he purchased the property. Keynejad noted the revenue he earns from the static billboard on his property is more than enough to pay for his property taxes, which he estimates to be $23,000 a year.

Costa Sanders expected the two leases and an agreement for the removal of the billboard on Keynejad’s property to be up for the City Council’s review in early 2018. She said the arrangement would be considered a source of revenue for the city, but how much revenue it would generate would not likely be known until the council reviews it next year.

The Planning Commission reviewed the design and environmental impact of the new sign Nov. 6. Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the design and environmental analysis of the new digital sign, with Vice Chair Don Bradley and Commissioner Shannon Bergman voting against both motions, according to a video of the meeting. Costa Sanders said at the meeting residents had raised concerns about the billboard’s safety to drivers during the outreach process — an aspect of the plans she said was under Caltrans’ purview — as well as the removal of the sign on Keynejad’s property.

At the meeting, Commissioner Angela Harper-Pedersen asked how birds might be affected by the new digital sign, which Costa Sanders said was designed to be consistent with an existing digital sign at 800 Bransten Road. Julie Wright, a representative of David J. Powers & Associates, the firm that conducted the environmental analysis of the billboard, said the lights on the board would be adjusted to avoid any glare for migratory birds.

Though Harper-Pedersen acknowledged the commission’s limitations in weighing in on the project’s safety and fit on the city’s stretch of highway, she said she hoped councilmembers could discuss those matters when they’re up for review by the council.

Though Keynejad and Garrett said they will explore ways they can avoid removing the billboard on Keynejad’s property, they were committed to airing their concerns with the City Council next year.

“It’s ridiculous,” Keynejad, said adding that the city could be helping his business instead of competing with it.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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