At a November 12, 2024 meeting the New Braunfels, Texas City Council approved the conversion of a non-conforming static billboard along I-35 to a two-sided digital billboard. The city’s 2006 Sign ordinance had prohibited the construction of new billboards or the improvements of non-conforming sign. The agreement looks to be a win for everyone. Here are the terms.
- Lamar gets 15 potential new advertising spots with a a minimum flip length of 8 seconds. which will generate more revenue and profit.
- The sign must have dimmer control and a photocell that adjusts brighness so that it is no more than 0.3 of a foot-candle over ambient light conditions at a distance of 250 feet.
- The city is guaranteed free ad free advertising space on the digital to promote local events and run safety messages.
- The digital billboard will be available for emergency messages like amber alerts, missing person notices and disaster information.
- The agreement results in fewer billboard in New Braufels because Lamar will remove four existing billboard structures with 8 faces in exchange for the conversion.
Here is the recommendation language in the staff report:
RECOMMENDATION:
Approval. The community will benefit from the development agreement as it will result in the reduction of signage clutter and night sky pollution with the removal of the 4 existing signs. The sign will also be utilized to display emergency notification messages to inform the public of important emergency news. It will also provide an opportunity for local advertisers to utilize the sign for their businesses as static billboard ad space is more expensive and usually is limited to 1 ad per sign face for an extended period of time. And, the City will have the opportunity for free advertising for events, hiring campaigns, weather updates, etc.
Billboard Insider’s take: Local businesses get a great opportunity to tell their story to potential clients. Lamar gets more revenue. The city gets fewer billboards and public safety messaging and community messaging. Win, win, win.
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