Cathedral City moves to prohibit all billboards, except those along Interstate 10

Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·2 min read
A billboard urges social distancing as the government steps up its coronavirus messaging in Cathedral City, March 23, 2020.
A billboard urges social distancing as the government steps up its coronavirus messaging in Cathedral City, March 23, 2020.

The city council of Cathedral City directed staff Tuesday to draft an ordinance prohibiting all billboards, except those along Interstate 10.

The council also urged that the number of billboards along the freeway be capped at its current level. In the future, if those billboards were to be converted to digital billboards, it would require Planning Commission and council approval.

The city's current municipal code limits billboards to 23 in the city and five north of I-10. There are 35 billboards in the city excluding those by the freeway, of which 20 are on non-tribal land and under the city's jurisdiction, according to a city staff report. These billboards can be found along Date Palm Drive, Ramon Road, Dinah Shore Drive, Perez Road, Mountain View Road and Varner Road.

If the ordinance is approved, existing billboards will become legal non-conforming. This means they would continue to be displayed but could not be upgraded or replaced, and therefore eventually removed at the end of their usefulness, the city staff report said. It is not clear how long that would take.

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Councilmember Nancy Ross said she is comfortable with allowing existing billboards to age out.

"I am against new digital signs and it would be great if our remaining signs would be north of (I-10)," she said.

Mayor Pro Tem Ernesto Gutierrez said the council needs to beautify the city as it grows.

“I believe that billboards do belong along the I-10 corridor and not within our cities,” Gutierrez said. “We have to take steps, whatever necessary, to explore the removal of (them) whenever possible – if financially possible, feasible for the city.”

It is unclear when the ordinance will be presented for the council's consideration.

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Cathedral City moves to prohibit billboards, except those by I-10