Dear Editor,
This Thursday, March 19 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Building’s Multi-Purpose Room, the City Council will hear from the company, PlaceWorks regarding the proposed “Entertainment District” around the Fox Hills Mall. A previous proposal from this group included green space, walking corridors and billboards.
While I am not opposed to re-developing what might be considered a blighted area, I am strongly opposed to allowing billboards in Culver City.
Culver City is a charming enclave within Los Angeles. One of the reasons, Culver City is so charming is because it is not splattered with oversized advertisements. I believe that installing billboards in Culver City (no matter how ‘hip’ or ‘arty’ the proposal), will cheapen our surroundings and drive down property values.
I am also concerned about content of billboards. I have small children and I actually have to avoid driving on certain streets in Los Angeles where I know there are gross or frightening ads (for example, horror TV shows) that scare them. I do not want to have to do that in my own community.
Even if this proposal is only for billboards facing the freeways, I think this is a slippery slope to pushing for more and more large-scale advertising in Culver City.
I urge the City Council to turn down any such proposal. I also urge any Culver City Residents who are against billboard advertising in Culver City to attend the meeting, contact City Council, or complete the “405 Gateway to Culver City” survey in the Announcements section on www.culvercity.org—making sure to include your opinions regarding billboards in the “Comments” section.
Sincerely,
Bronwyn Schrecker Jamrok
I strongly agree with Ms. Jamrock.
Our quality of life is at stake. Continuing a billboard ban should be a no-brainer for the City Council, but apparently it is not. Many of the billboards I see are disturbing, horrifying, and disgusting. At best, they cheapen neighborhoods and are yet another form of distraction we don’t need.
We, as community residents, must show our opposition to billboards if we care about what we see in our neighborhoods. I encourage all Culver City residents to take the time to GET INVOLVED!