Oconee to look at billboard moratorium

Does Oconee County have enough billboards? Or maybe too many?
District 3 County Councilmember Paul Cain thinks so. At Cain’s instigation the County Council on Tuesday authorized county attorney David Root to research the legal implications of a moratorium on any new billboards. Root agreed with Council members Wayne McCall and Glenn Hart that the question involves complicated legal issues. Speech issues, property rights, as well as issues unique to Oconee County and South Carolina state law would come into play. In raising the idea of a moratorium Cain noted that many billboards he sees along Hwy. 123 have gone unused for several years, advertised as available. To him, Cain said, that indicates that the county had enough or even too many billboards for the market, really unsightly nuisances. “Since we’re wanting to be a tourism destination,” Cain said, “It’s time we considered a billboard moratorium.” McCall questioned whether a moratorium would invite lawsuits for, among other grounds, restraint of trade. The resulting discussion led to the suggestion that Root research the issues involved in a moratorium. Root said since his research would also include numbers of abandoned billboards in the county it was uncertain whether his findings would be complete before the Council’s next scheduled regular meeting on August 20. Oconee County already has a billboard ordinance regulating size and placement of billboards. Billboards are defined as signs over 75 square-feet in area and usually off the premises of the business they advertise.