Surprisingly civil and respectful by all sides
February 3, 2021
Yesterday’s committee hearing on SB61 – Outdoor Advertising Amendments was surprisingly civil and respectful by all sides. The bill was substituted, but the new version is not really different from the original, just moving some of the proposed language from one part of the bill to another. But the discussion ranged the gamut from billboards are a blight on communities to being necessary for the survival of businesses. Most commenters, however, acknowledged the need for some modifications to the bill and expressed their trust in the bill sponsor, Sen. Sandall, to continue work on and make changes to the bill as it moves along. One committee member in particular, Sen. Dan McCay, said that he would vote for the bill in committee, but with his past experience with a billboard in Riverton, he would not be voting for the bill on the Senate floor unless some substantive changes were made to the bill for better local control. Others said the same. The bill was voted out of committee favorably by a 6-2 vote, with Senators Todd Weiler and Jerry Stevenson voting against the bill. It now goes to the Senate floor. Here’s a news story on the committee meeting.
Nothing more to report on the ADU bills yet, but here’s another opinion piece about the bill, ADUs and affordable housing by Jay Evensen.
Still waiting for the main Land Use Task Force and Commission on Housing Affordability bills.
Wilf Sommerkorn
Co-Chair, APA Utah Legislative Committee
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Billboards are stacked along the 600 South offramp from I-15 in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. A new bill that received favorable recommendation from a House committee on Tuesday would allow any billboard in the state to go digital.
