San Jose officials have nixed a proposal to build a digital billboard near the airport, marking a victory for activists fighting the expansion of billboards around the city.

Director of Aviation John Aitken said the site for a proposed billboard on I-880 near Mineta San Jose International Airport was “not a viable location.” In a letter sent earlier this month to the proposer, OutFront Media, Aitken said the location has several safety and environmental conflicts that rule out the possibility of setting up a billboard.

“With this review, the city concludes its vetting of the site and will not be advancing any billboard projects on this parcel,” Aitken said.

John Foster, a representative of OutFront Media, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

San Jose officials enacted an ordinance in September 2018 to allow 22 or more digital billboards on public property near freeways and on buildings downtown. Earlier this year, San Jose officials signed a notice of intent to permit three new billboards, including the one near the airport. In January, the San Jose Airport Commission rejected two proposed digital billboards citing community pushback, light pollution, energy use and lack of transparency around the process. A 2021 survey found over 90% of city respondents opposed digital billboards.

Airport Commission Chair Dan Connolly told San José Spotlight the commission had expressed concern about the proposed billboard being in the flight path.

“I was very pleased with (the city’s) determination, which was our exact determination,” he said. “I think the city and airport made a wise choice.”

The city’s decision to axe one of these proposed sites also comes as a thrill to the coalition of activists who have rallied against the construction of billboards in San Jose since local officials reversed a decades-long ban on building new billboards on public property.

John Miller, co-founder of No Digital Billboards in San Jose, said he objects to the aesthetic ugliness of billboards, and doesn’t buy the argument of boosters who claim digital billboards will bring in new revenue. He believes the tide is turning against billboards in San Jose.

“I think we’re going to see new people coming into City Council who are more sympathetic to the idea we restore the ban on new billboards,” Miller told San José Spotlight, adding the longtime ban on new billboards on public and private property in the city hasn’t harmed the economy.

Some people are concerned digital billboards could erode the historic character of San Jose. Ben Leech, executive director of the Preservation Action Council of San Jose, said digital billboards threaten to literally overshadow historic buildings and signs.

“One of our concerns was if you start incentivizing these things going up, do they start to replace some of the more authentically San Jose parts of the old environment?” Leech told San José Spotlight. “Older architecture would be the first to get covered over if that was the route the city endorsed.”

Contact Eli Wolfe at [email protected] or @EliWolfe4 on Twitter.

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‘Billboards that generate revenue for the city are bad. Graffiti blighting the entire city is OK.’ Hmmm…. sort of seems our priorities are broken.

Graffiti is not OK. There is an app to report and it gets cleaned right away in my experience. It is called San Jose 311.

So why does author not mention that the agreement to install two digital billboards by Clear Channel came with the caveat that 12 other billboards were required to be removed and 2200-plu trees had to replace the 40-something trees that were being uprooted to make way for the two new digital billboards? And why is not mentioned that the removal of said billboards are in low-income districts and the planting of trees is in districts that need these trees.

And what proof does John Miller have that the digital billboards won’t bring in new revenue. If it’s a new billboard and they sell even one ad, is that not new revenue?

And as far as eroding “the historic character of San Jose” as state by Ben Leech, I’m not real certain how two billboards along the freeway erode anything? Please explain, Mr. Leech!

I think we should be thanking the airport and the city council for taking such a well thought-out plan and putting it into action.

Sorry, that’s 220 trees, not 2,200. Maybe the moderator could fix that for me? lol.

The added light pollution that affects birds and also contributes to distracted drivers is also not mentioned. Those were 2 reasons I am not in favor.

“San Jose officials squash airport billboard proposal”

So, the proposal was physically smashed by someone? I believe the correct term would be “quash.”

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