CONTENTS. PAGE The Exclusion of Billboards from Residential Districts, 2. Regulation of Billboards under the Authority of an Amendment to the Constitution, as suggested by the Massachusetts Commission on the Taxation of Signs, 392 3. Regulation under the Right of Eminent Domain, by THE REGULATION OF BILLBOARDS. I. THE ARGUMENT FOR AND AGAINST THE BILLBOARD. The use of the billboard as an advertising medium has been constantly increasing during recent years. Every one is aware of the flaring advertisements which adorn the highways of every community. Every vacant plot in a municipality offers a possible location for a new billboard. As a consequence, there has been a growing endeavor to regulate the billboard, especially in the larger cities. Civic authorities, local improvement societies and other organizations have all attempted to deal with this problem, with varying success. The subject has been recently investigated in this Commonwealth by a Commission on the Taxation of Signs, which made a report to the General Court in January, 1915 (House Document No. 1637). The objections urged against the billboard by those who wish further regulation may be summarized as follows: 1. Fire Risk. - Billboards increase the fire risk of any locality, since they are usually constructed in whole or in part of wooden material. This danger is increased by the accumulation of paper and rubbish which is often found behind them. 2. Wind Hazard. - Billboards, being often of flimsy construction, are liable to be blown down by a heavy gale, endangering life and property. This is especially true of roof signs. 3. Sanitary Considerations. The space in the rear of billboards serves as a dumping ground for the filth and rubbish of a neighborhood, and accordingly may serve as a breeding place for flies and mosquitoes. 4. Danger to Morals of the Young. - Billboards serve as a shelter for immoral practices and often accentuate the "corner nuisance," thus lowering the moral tone of a neighborhood. 5. Billboards are Unsightly. — Posters on billboards, though much improved in design over those of former days, must still be large and startling in order to attract attention. They are for the most part brightly colored and are never designed to harmonize with adjoining boards, which results in an unpleasant contrast of paints and figures. Billboards are constantly constructed in open places where they may shut off a desirable vista from public observation. 6. Effect upon Real Estate Values. The unsightliness of billboards almost invariably results in an impairment of the value of neighboring property, this being especially true in residential districts. Billboard encroachment into a locality of homes is always an offence to the surrounding community. The arguments advanced in favor of leaving billboards free from any regulation other than that to which all structures are subjected are as follows: 1. A Legitimate Means of Advertising. - Publicity is necessary to business and advertising on billboards should be subjected to no regulations other than those which apply to other forms of advertising. 2. Deprivation of Property without Due Process of Law. -The privilege of erecting billboards upon private property is often the source of considerable income, which is a total loss if billboards are prohibited or unduly restricted. -- 3. Interference with Personal Liberty. So long as billboards do not through faults of construction endanger the public safety, there is no reason why the public should interfere with individual freedom of contract or use of private property. II. BILLBOARD REGULATION IN MASSACHUSETTS CITIES. Massachusetts cities have on the whole been more lenient than those of other States in making effective regulations concerning billboard structures. Boston, for example, imposes relatively few restrictions upon this form of advertising. Here billboard companies may erect, with few exceptions, a billboard of any size upon private property, providing that the billboard is not erected in such a manner as to be unsafe. No permit or license is required and the company pays nothing to the city. The only exception to this is in the case of advertising signs which are on or overhang public property and on roofs.1 A sign which projects upon or hangs over a public highway in Boston requires a permit from the Board of Street Commissioners. If such signs are attached to buildings they are subject to the requirements of the Building Law, and if illuminated they must meet with the approval of the Wire Commissioner. A small fee varying according to the projection is charged in the case of signs over ten feet long. Illuminated signs are licensed at one dollar. Projecting signs must be at least ten feet above the sidewalk. Billboards on buildings are subject to the approval of the Buildings Department, which imposes a small sum for their erection. Furthermore, all roof billboards or sky signs are subject to the rules and regulations of the Fire Prevention Commissioner. They must be of noncombustible material, and fastenings must be of iron or steel; ends must not extend nearer to the side walls than three feet, and the lower edge of every roof sign must be at least four feet above the roof. These regulations, it is clear, deal only with building requirements based mainly upon grounds of public safety. No attempt has been made to prescribe rules regarding the ground location of billboards or the kind of advertisements which appear upon them. Matters of this sort rest entirely with the billboard companies and the private owner. III. REGULATION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. Regulation of billboards abroad is far more stringent than in this country, for the reason that the whole basis of the law is different and there are no constitutional limitations to impede action by governmental authorities. General grants of power are given to the local communities to deal with billboards, with the right to make special regulations as they see fit. Billboards, accordingly, have not only been restricted in their location, size and construction, but have also been subjected to heavy. taxation which furnishes the city with a considerable source of revenue. Several methods have been tried in various foreign countries for the regulation of billboard advertising and these may be briefly summarized as follows: 1 See General Acts, 1915, ch. 176, "An Act relative to Signs, Awnings and Other Projections in Public Ways." |