Pomona : Hearing on Billboard Plan

A proposed agreement allowing a company to install 10 large double-sided billboards along freeways in return for demolishing 30 similar signs elsewhere in the city will be considered by the Pomona City Council during a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

The council in November, by a 4-3 vote, approved the controversial proposal in concept and instructed the city staff to negotiate an agreement with Regency Outdoor Advertising Co., which says it is a good way to secure the removal of run-down billboards without cost.

Opponents say the proposal, which would allow installation of signs along the Pomona (60) and Orange (57) freeways and the Corona Expressway (71), will destroy views and harm the city’s appearance.

In addition, opponents claim, the city has the authority to set a deadline for the removal of old billboards without granting anyone the right to erect new ones.

Residents are circulating petitions to put a measure on the ballot this fall to ban billboards but concede that the effort comes too late to stop the Regency proposal.