Billboard battle hits new heights

OAKLAND -- The Port of Oakland's right to place billboards on its property will be challenged again by a City Council member concerned it will lead to a proliferation of outdoor ads in the city.

Unable to spark an agreement with the port, Councilmember Jane Brunner now will seek City Council approval to ensure elected leaders get the final say on whether and where billboard are constructed on port property.

Brunner began a campaign to limit port control over billboards last summer after the port signed a deal to place one along Interstate 80 near the Bay Bridge toll plaza.

That deal came on the heels of another one that allowed a billboard company to put up signs along Airport Drive at Oakland International Airport.

At the time, Brunner convinced fellow council members to ask staff to research the possibility of taking over control of billboard placement. The council also asked staff to meet with the port in an attempt to reach an agreement that would limit its exclusive rights.

But a deal could not be made, so now Brunner wants the city to begin preparing documents to take full control of the issue.

Brunner said she is concerned the port does not factor in city objections when it makes deals with billboard companies.

"They are a business, they make a lot of money from billboards," Brunner said. "For the city, it is a decision of what we want our city to look like; for them, it is a business decision."

The port expects to make at least $8 million over 20 years for the billboard it allowed Viacom Outdoor Advertising -- now known as CBS Outdoor Advertising -- to build near the Bay Bridge toll plaza.

Under a separate deal negotiated by Mayor Jerry Brown, the company also will pay the city about $6 million to help support Brown's Oakland School for the Arts charter school.

The port also will make as much as $6.8 million from Clear Channel Outdoor Advertising for extending a lease of an existing sign near the toll plaza.

And for its airport billboards, the port expects to make at most $2 million a year, depending on how much the company building the signs earns for the advertisements.

Port spokesperson Marilyn Sandifur said the city and port staffs are still talking in hopes of reaching an agreement over the regulation of billboards.

Therefore, any movement on changing city laws could be premature, she said.

Busy staff schedules and the winter holidays delayed the meetings, she said, but they are still ongoing.

Furthermore, Sandifur said, there is time to negotiate because there are no new billboard proposals on the table.

"We have still been meeting with them, there is constant dialogue," Sandifur said. "Everybody hoped that it could have been achieved sooner but with scheduling conflicts, both sides decided it would take longer."

In fact, city staff members recommended in a report to the council that the elected body hold off on making changes.

Though Brunner continues to push for regulations on port billboards, her council colleagues don't like the idea of telling the port what it can and can't do.

"We are going to have that discussion again, but I am not prepared to take away the land-use decisions from the port," said City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale). "I don't think they are abusing their power."

Councilmember Larry Reid (Elmhurst-East Oakland) agreed.

"The port is its own separate entity and we as a city have many more issues to deal with," he said. "They have good, intelligent port commissioners that we, as the council, confirmed. We ought to let them do the job they are appointed to do."

Brunner's request will be heard by the council's community and economic development committee today at 4 p.m. If passed there, the issue will go before the entire council.

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