Primer for Local Governments

Scenic Utah helps communities and local governments revise ordinances and adopt measures that protect the aesthetic qualities of their streets, highways, and residential areas, and reduce or eliminate visual pollution caused by excessive outdoor advertising.

Our Primer for Local Governments offers guidance on developing and amending digital sign and billboard ordinances. Written by planning professionals who understand Utah's complex billboard statutes, it includes definitions, cautions, tips for getting started, and links to additional resources.

Download the Primer for Local Governments (pdf)

Our Research 

Our Converting Digital to Static Memo offers examples from across the United States, providing local planners with the insights needed to make informed decisions about the appropriate static-to-digital exchange ratio.

Download the Static to Digital Exchange Ratio Memo (pdf)

Advocacy 

We advocate for better and more transparent policies that reduce billboard clutter, hold outdoor advertisers accountable, and uphold the rights of governmental entities to regulate and ban billboards on both safety and aesthetic grounds. We stand with the vast majority of Utahns who view billboards as intrusive eyesores that harm the visual environment, reduce property values, and detract from community character.

We support the efforts of Scenic America in standing up to legislative deal-making, and to industry and trade groups who spend millions of dollars annually lobbying regulatory agencies at every level, from city halls to Capitol Hill.

Other Resources & Articles

Billboard Impact Study, Australia 2019

Between Beauty and Beer Signs, Rutgers 2012

Digital Billboard Study Compendium

Loopholes Wisconsin Billboards

The Valuation of Billboard Structures