Gov. Jerry Brown signed off on a new law last week that could allow more digital signs in downtown Los Angeles.

As Insider reported on September 5th AB1373 would require billboards to conform to whatever sign ordinance the City Council passes. The new bill allows developers to potentially erect several giant electronic billboards around the $1-billion Metropolis high-rise project in downtown Los Angeles as long as they also are allowed by the city.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago said that the measure is aimed at helping the economic revitalization of a downtown neighborhood. The measure is needed to provide some financial incentive for developers to revitalize the city core now that redevelopment agencies have all been shut down.

Billboards can provide extra revenue to help make developments more profitable, he said. The bill provides exemption from the Outdoor Advertising Act for an area bounded by West 8th Street on the northeast, South Figueroa Street on the southeast, Interstate 10 on the southwest, and State Route 110 on the northwest, and to a nearby area on the westerly side of State Route 110 bounded by West 8th Place, James M. Wood Boulevard and Golden Avenue.

Santiago said the city of Los Angeles, which will have final say on any signage, has lost $5 billion in economic development over the last four years alone because of the lack of hotel rooms and an outdated Los Angeles Convention Center.

For more information see the article in The Los Angeles Times.

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