FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  Contact: Lisa Hansen (Weiss) 213 473-7005

October 29, 2008                                                                                   

 WEISS DEMANDS REMOVAL OF PUBLIC SAFETY HAZARDS CAUSED BY ILLEGAL SUPERGRAPHIC SIGNS


Signs can interfere with firefighter access and increase danger.

 
LOS ANGELES –  New concerns about public and life safety issues posed by supergraphic advertising on buildings have prompted Councilmember Jack Weiss to direct the Fire Department to conduct sweeps to identify signs that threaten the public, and today he  proposed changes to City laws to specifically ban unsafe materials and installation.  

   “Supergraphics are going up all around the City and the advertising they carry has blocked views and architecture, but today we know that some of these supergraphics also are blocking escape routes and posing a safety hazard for people inside,” said Weiss.  “Today I am announcing that supergraphics which pose a threat to the public must come down, and I will strengthen the Fire Code to specifically ban the dangers they create.”

   Weiss announced his proposal at a press conference at the site of a supergraphic which is an example of the size and scale of these supergraphics that could pose a hazard.  In other examples offered at the press conference, large banner style supergraphics made of flammable material have been applied over windows, and have been removed only after aggressive action by Fire Department officials.

   The City of Los Angeles has tried to regulate signs and eliminate illegal advertising for many years.  Printed on vinyl, film, or other material and attached directly to buildings, supergraphic signs may be made of combustible material, cover windows, and block ingress and egress.  Although other City ordinances have banned these large scale signs, enforcement has been difficult and supergraphics are being installed on buildings throughout the City. Fire Department officials have raised concerns that these signs are installed illegally in violation of the Fire Code and create life hazards for firefighters and building occupants.

   “Because supergraphics are a blight for people inside and outside these buildings, I support this effort, and we will do everything we can to cooperate and help,” said Dennis Hathaway, President of the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight.  “For the people working inside these buildings, the supergraphics obstruct their views and even worse can potentially be dangerous to their lives.” 

   Weiss will introduce his proposed changes to the law during the City Council meeting on Friday October 31.