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Downtown residents rejoice after Miami repealed an ordinance that authorized the construction of colossal LED billboards they feared would blight the city’s urban core.
In a 4-1 vote May 23, Miami commissioners rolled back a January 2023 ordinance that allowed for massive, illuminated, multi-faced signs at an expanded list of locations in Miami’s downtown and waterfront parks.
The commission also directed the city attorney to request a declaratory judgment regarding the city’s contract with the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), which already received a permit for a sign under the 2023 legislation.
The resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Damian Pardo who represents the area primarily affected, retracted the January 2023 ordinance that authorized lighted, 100-foot-tall signs with two faces up to 1,080 square feet per side to rise at an expanded list of locations that included Bayfront Park, Maurice A. Ferré Park, the Adrienne Arsht Center and PAMM.
The new outdoor advertising ordinance amends the list of authorized sites, removing the Adrienne Arsht Center and PAMM and adding regulations relating to signs that will apply to those already permitted at the sites mentioned, which are now deemed legal, nonconforming uses by the city.
The updated regulations include limited hours of operation to between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. that can be extended to midnight for special events, modulation and ambient lighting requirements, and a prohibition on adult content, all of which were the main concerns of residents who feared the ads and bright LED lights would disrupt their quality of life and mar the aesthetic of Miami’s downtown neighborhoods.
For the signs already permitted at the Adrienne Arsht Center and PAMM, Mr. Pardo said the Arsht Center has requested its permits be revoked and the city is in the process of doing so.
“There is a path to bring down the PAMM sign through our lease” of the ground on which the museum stands. “It should come down, and that’s what the residents are demanding,” Mr. Pardo said, but adding, “we can’t revoke a permit because we will be subject to millions of dollars.”
“We have also asked for the license agreement between Orange Barrel Media and PAMM, and we have not been provided that, so [the city] will be advising the default and requesting a copy of that agreement,” Mr. Pardo continued.
Mr. Pardo and City Attorney George Wysong explained a potential path to taking down the PAMM sign, which involves a ruling from a judge that Miami’s ground lease for the property gives the city authority over the contract, which has raised suspicions.
Commissioners and public commenters at the meeting noted that Orange Barrel Media, the Ohio-based billboard company behind the PAMM sign, contributed over $200,000 to former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who sponsored the January 2023 outdoor advertising ordinance and was in September 2023 charged with bribery.
“My predecessor, who is under indictment charges at the moment, created this mess,” said Commissioner Miguel Gabela, Mr. Diaz de la Portilla’s successor.
Mr. Pardo said the city’s lease has a strong indemnification clause in the agreement. City attorney George Wysong explained that the clause calls on PAMM to defend and hold harmless the city from any and all claims related to issues with the contract.
“So, there is a potential that in the event that litigation was to ensue regarding the signs, that PAMM would have to be the one fighting that lawsuit,” Mr. Wysong said. He clarified that there is no request to take down the sign currently but he still recommended seeking a declaratory judgment to limit any possible liabilities regarding the future of the PAMM sign.
The commission ultimately voted 4-1, authorizing the new outdoor advertising ordinance and directing the city attorney to seek a declaratory judgment. Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who had opposed the LED billboards since the beginning, cast the lone no vote in continued protest.