L.A. Committee Moves to Ban Tobacco, Alcohol Billboards

Acknowledging that the city is moving into uncharted waters, the Arts, Health and Humanities Committee on Monday took the next step in Councilman Mike Feuer’s effort to ban tobacco and alcohol advertising on billboards in Los Angeles.

The committee asked the city attorney’s office to draft an ordinance within 90 days that will outline the ban.

Feuer said he hopes the ban will be in place by year’s end.

At a hearing Monday, the committee discussed several ramifications of the ban, such as possible legal challenges on 1st Amendment grounds and the need to update the zoning code, which does not clearly define billboards. Feuer detailed a similar billboard measure adopted in Baltimore and later upheld by a federal appeals court.

“Billboard advertising is a unique form of advertising because while you can turn off the television or turn the page of a magazine, a billboard is deliberately placed in our field of vision,” Feuer said.