For Those of you who have said the Alamo, our famous missions and other landmarks will never have billboards on them. We include these two stories of what they are doing in Venice and St Mark's Square and an old Victorian era church. In the case of the Victorian era church, the billboard company paid the lease fees to help the church financially even if it blocked the views of the church from THREE SIDES. Do you think that if the Daughters of the Republic, who are the caretakers of the Alamo, were to ever need money for upkeep on the Alamo that just possibly the billboard industry would step up and offer the money with the same strings attached? After all, they did offer the cash-strapped State of California money to take over all the road side warning signs for Caltrans (their version of TxDOT) in exchange for allowing them to show advertisements when not used for road side emergency warnings. It all starts with a weakening of the ban on all billboards. Ours here in San Antonio have been weakened. Remember there used to be a ban on any billboards in our Scenic and Urban corridors and right now we have seven digitals in those areas that one year ago did not exist. Here is the article below.

From The Sunday Times (London)
November 16, 2008
Venice swathed in billboards
EYE SORE

  Venetians have expressed outrage after a recent change in the law allowed huge advertising billboards to be erected in St Mark’s Square and along the Grand Canal. Firms are sponsoring the scaffolding on buildings undergoing restoration, then exploiting a legal loophole allowing advertising to be hung from the structure. The 645,000 sq ft watch ad currently defacing St Mark’s Square brings in £140,000 a month, but despite the protests, Venice superintendent Renata Codello insists that she has been discriminating. “I have turned down masses of proposals,” she said, “including one with the entire Italian football team dressed only in their shorts.”

Billboards hiding Victorian church to be pulled down

Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 16:42

Billboards hiding a Victorian church in St Werburgh's are to be pulled down.

Campaigners are celebrating the breakthrough after a long-running battle to get the three giant advertising signs removed from the junction of Ashley Hill and Sevier Street.

Here's another story that should make you really think about what is in store for San Antonio thanks to our present City Leaders. This story is about what happened in Harris County (Houston) when TXDOT built a new overpass on IH-10 that was THREE FEET TOO HIGH. Harris County got stuck with the lawsuit for a State error. Oh AND THEY GOT TO KEEP THE BILLBOARD AND RAISE IT TOO. Check out the value on the tax roles and then in court what Clear Channel said the billboard is REALLY worth.

Harris County must pay $525,000 for Clear Channel sign -  I-10 bridge built too high for billboard

A Clear Channel billboard at the Katy Freeway will be raised 10 feet under a settlement with the county. The bill to Harris County taxpayers for the Katy Freeway project got a half-million dollars bigger this week.

On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court approved a $525,000 settlement with Clear Channel Outdoors over a billboard that was blocked by the construction of a ramp linking the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes to Metro's Addicks Park & Ride.

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