REVERE — Twisted steel is all that’s left of three 14-by-48-foot billboards on North Shore Road.
The signs were destroyed by consecutive nor’easters that left more than 3,300 residents in the city without electricity.
Clear Channel Outdoor, a subsidiary of Texas-based IHeartMedia Inc., which owns the advertising boards, seems in no hurry to make repairs, say city councilors.
“Those three signs should be repaired or removed,” said Ward 5 City Councilor John Powers. “But they are part of a larger problem. We have too many billboards in Revere, more than any other community around us.”
The eyesores have the attention of the City Council at a time when the panel is considering a proposal to outlaw new signs. Revere is home to 90 billboards, according to the city’s latest count.
Ward 1 Councilor Joanne McKenna said the time has come to prohibit more signs.
“Billboards make the city look shabby,” she said. “We are trying to remove the stigma of Revere as this poor city. We want it to be better, cleaner and give our residents a better quality of life. That’s what we are trying to do. Right now, we are not holding the billboard companies accountable.”
Under the proposed ordinance, no new billboards will be allowed; digital signs would be regulated; converting a static billboard to digital would require a special permit; and owners who fail to keep the sign and the area around it in good shape, would face fines.
“Our goal is to stop any more billboards from coming, and for the ones that are here to be taken care of, like any other property in the city,” said McKenna.
The City Council is expected to take up the measure at a future meeting.
Mayor Brian Arrigo did not respond to requests for comment.
Jason King, a Clear Channel spokesman, said their goal has been to make the needed repairs. But they have been unable to do so, he said, becuase electric power must first be cut to the billboards.
“The billboards were storm damaged in January and we immediately alerted the local power company, and a number of times since, of the need to shut off electricity to those structures so our employees could safely restore the roadside appearance of our media,” he said in an email. “We place a high value on the safety of our employees, but, as of this morning, the structures still have power and our teams cannot begin their repair work.”
