SAN PEDRO — The LA City Department of General Services renewed its demand on Regency Outdoor Advertising on Feb. 7 to respond to the city with its plans for removing the billboard at the entrance to San Pedro at 427 N. Gaffey Street.
Regency Outdoor Advertising Feb. 22 responded in a press release to the city’s demand to remove its billboard, stating it has “responsibly operated billboards in Los Angeles and Greater Los Angeles to the highest standards.”
Regency’s statement cited its commitment to its support of the City of Los Angeles and that it has always sought to give back to the communities it serves. It pointed to the “millions of dollars in public benefit and donations to many public causes that both benefit the City and Southern California and its citizens, and help keep our community safe.”
The company said its billboard at Gaffey Street in San Pedro is an excellent opportunity to partner with the City to fund its many needs: sustainable initiatives, public infrastructure projects addressing homelessness, opioid dependency, public safety communication and improving public EV charging access.
Regency said it is baffled and perplexed by the decisions of some local officials in San Pedro who seek to rebuff its attempts to convey the public benefit to them and the citizens of Los Angeles and block its plans for a development agreement with the City. Regency asserted plans for this agreement include: revenue sharing, offering public benefits through beautification and a new public park, EV car charging and a new city welcome sign with a dedicated digital display, public messaging, plus power generation and storage.
Finally, Regency’s hope is that “the situation is urgently reviewed so we can discuss the benefits for citizens and voters of the San Pedro area from our partnership and avoid the current bureaucratic short-sightedness and obstruction.”
Background
In 2015, the City of Los Angeles authorized the acquisition of the property in an effort to improve visibility, safety and public access to the San Pedro community by removing the billboard structure. Up until 2022, the outdoor advertising company was leasing the space on the property for a large billboard. The lease expired at the end of 2022 and the billboard continues to be used for advertising purposes.
On Feb. 7, the general manager of the General Services Department sent a letter to the billboard agency to remind it of the deadline to remove the billboard, citing the city has not received an update yet on their plans for removal. The letter also stated that “the City reserves its right to file an unlawful detainer action at any time in order to seek the return of possession.”
On his first day of Council in December 2022, McOsker introduced a motion to instruct the Department of General Services to issue all necessary notices to the owner and lessee of the property to remove the billboard and vacate the property.