One Says Residents Want An 'Advertising-Free Skyline'

Two members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors say aerial advertising should be banned over the city.

The idea arose from debate over a temporary ban on banner towing during America's Cup sailboat races being held in San Francisco. Two of the supervisors seized on that idea and proposed a city-wide permanent ban. The City Insider blog reports that Honolulu has been able to defend a city-wide ban on aerial advertising, but other cities in California and elsewhere that have tried to ban the activity have received resistance from the FAA.

An amendment offered by one Supervisor to exempt those with an FAA waiver from the ban would possibly make the ordinance moot. The FAA requires a special waiver to tow anything with an airplane, so any banner-towing company would likely already have that document in hand.

 Television station KGO reports that San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim said her office has received many complaints over the past 18 months about "noise pollution and visual pollution" from banner towing operations. "Folks really want to see an advertising-free skyline in San Francisco," she said. She represents a district near the city's baseball stadium where there is a lot of banner towing activity. Supervisor John Avalos also supports the complete ban.

The citizen’s group San Francisco Beautiful compares aerial advertising to billboards and advertising kiosks that the organization opposes. Spokesman Alex Walker said aerial advertising is "another incursion upon our space, our airspace."

But Bob Franklin, the owner of Aerial Services in Livermore, CA, said a citywide ban on advertising in San Francisco would be a "death knell to the ability for us to be able to exhibit relatively inexpensive free speech messages."

Supervisor Kim told the station she has contacted the FAA to see if the agency will "work with the city" on her proposal.

FMI: www.sfbos.org