Council Preview: Billboard May Soon Light Up the Town

They dot the landscape of the Hwy. 101 metro corridor harkening everything from blockbuster movies to high-tech gizmos--digital billboards that deliver high frequency rotations of advertisements are moneymakers for the cities in which they are placed.

And it looks like the City of Belmont may get one too.

If the accepts the recommendation of city staff, it will approve a resolution at its Tuesday night meeting authorizing the installation of a digital billboard adjacent to Hwy. 101 on the site of the

According to the staff report, the city has been in discussion with Clear Channel Outdoor about a lease agreement that would allow the advertising display company to install a two-sided digital billboard and remove several of their existing traditional billboard signs throughout the city.

In a July 16 letter to Belmont city manager Greg Scoles, Bruce Qualls of Clear Channel Outdoor said that the company expects the lease will be financially beneficial to the city, and that the city would have the ability to place public service messages on the billboard (on a space-available basis).

The staff report did not stipulate the dollar amount the city would receive through the lease agreement.

If the council approves the resolution, Clear Channel Outdoor would be required to submit entitlement applications related to permitting and construction of the sign.

The Belmont City Council meeting will be held Tues., July 24, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the council chamber of Belmont City Hall. For more information, go to www.belmont.gov.