The City of San Jose is considering allowing up to 90 new digital billboards on private property as well as some smaller signs on public land. In a continuation of an effort Insider posted on in August 2019, The Mercury News is reporting of a virtual meeting set for Monday night to seek public input on an environmental report that will consider the impact of a handful of proposed amendments to the city’s sign ordinance.

Since 1972 San Jose has had a prohibition on the construction of new billboards on city-pwned land. In 1985 that prohibition was extended to include both public and private lands. More recently city leaders have indicated a willingness to consider changes to the ordinance as an opportunity to generate new revenue to the city, reduce the number of billboards in the city through a digital/static swap program and provide a mechanism for communicating important public messaging.

Under the proposed amendments, the city would allow private property owners to erect free-standing billboard structures on freeway-facing sites. As of May, the city had identified 90 potential sites The sites primarily line Highway 87 — from the airport down to U.S. 85, Interstate 280 — just south of downtown San Jose, and Interstate 880.

Officials are also considering allowing small digital billboards on city-owned land in the public right of way and building-mounted signage opportunities in downtown and North San Jose.

Billboard companies that want to construct a new electronic billboard would have to take down at least four traditional static billboards within the city, according to the proposed amendments.

This is the second major effort in recent years to loosen the city’s restrictions on digital signs and billboards. In September 2018, the city council approved a new policy allowing signs — such as billboards and programmable electronic signs — solely on 17 city-owned sites that could accommodate up to 22 signs.

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