Yes, Virginia, there is a billboard ban
(Actual e-mail from city government)
From: Lindemeyer, Nancy
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 4:16 PM
To: Johnson, Mitchell
Subject: Fox 8 NewsMitchell, Fox 8 Assignment Editor Robert Murray found the billboard information on their web site and apologized for the incorrect information. He will remove it immediately. Fox 8 sent a photojournalist, Eddie Hughes, to the Council meeting and he thought that Item #7 (annexation issue) concerned the Urban Loop (can't explain why). They will put the correct information about Item 7 up, but it really doesn't have to do with billboards.
Here's what they had:
Greensboro Urban Loop billboardsThe Greensboro City Council has voted unanimously to allow billboards along Greensboro's Urban Loop. The vote will now allow advertisers to put billboards up along the loop, which is the new interstate that will one day circle Greensboro. In November of 2002, the city voted to create a scenic corridor banning billboards along the Urban Loop. But this vote means the scenic corridor is no longer a reality.
Nancy Lindemeyer, Communications Manager
Organizational Development & Communications
City of Greensboro
P.O. Box 3136, Greensboro, NC 27402
Phone: 336.373.2105 Fax: 336.373.4656
http://www.greensboro-nc.gov
If you're wondering, the item #7 that is mentioned was an annexation petition for land adjacent to the interchange where Interstate 85 splits off from Interstate 40 on the east side of the city. Contrary to the Fox 8 report, the vote didn't involve billboards, and the Scenic Corridor regulation is still in effect for portions of the highway that are inside the city limits.
Incidentally, the vote on item #7 wasn't unanimous. The tally was 8-1 in favor of annexing the land, with Council member Dianne Bellamy-Small voting against.