by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Legislation has been introduced to the City Council that would amend the regulations concerning signage on public right of ways to allow advertising on the JTA’s shelters that serve bus and trolley riders. Thursday the Downtown Development Review Board of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission considered a recommendation that the ordinance be amended. The item was on the agenda because the DDRB is charged with acting as the City’s Planning Commission for matters that affect the area within the Downtown Overlay.
JEDC Deputy Executive Director Paul Crawford explained to the members before the discussion began that the legislation filed by several Council members that would allow the advertising required a finding by the DDRB and that a second recommendation would be filed by the Planning Commission that will address the rest of the county. He also said, “This is not something the JEDC has put forth. This is the JTA working with the City Council.”
It was also noted that the City’s Planning and Development Department supports the amendment to the sign regulations to allow a special sign exception for transit shelters. Following the DDRB’s approval and the anticipated approval by the Planning Commission the measure would then be addressed by the council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee and then be heard by the full council.
Mike Miller, JTA director of external affairs, told the board the request for amendment was the result of “a tremendous amount of time and dialogue” aimed at finding a way to provide more transit shelters at no cost to taxpayers. In fact, he added, amending the sign ordinance and allowing a third-party vendor to provide the shelters and sell advertising on them would actually generate revenue that would be used to purchase additional shelters.
“We know the City is in a $56 million hole and it’s not likely to get better next year. JTA is also in a hole. We have two sources of revenue: sales tax and gas tax and neither is showing signs of an increase,” said Miller.
He also said being able to subcontract the installation and maintenance of the proposed new shelters would save taxpayers $10 million over the next 20 years and would place more shelters at the existing 6,000 transit stops. There are currently shelters at only 400 JTA bus and trolley stops.
Miller said JTA has rules in place that control the content of advertising allowed on JTA buses and those same rules would apply to the shelters. Those rules prohibit advertising of alcohol, tobacco or firearms and no political or religious messages among other restrictions. He also made it clear that DDRB will grant final approval of the design of the proposed shelters.
Assistant General Counsel Jason Teal advised the board that the legislation as drafted should protect the City from possible legal challenges that might render the sign ordinance invalid in its entirety and said, “We are as protected as we can be.”
Miller said if the legislation is approved, the 24 transit shelters currently in place Downtown would be removed and replaced with new shelters by the third-party vendor. When asked why JTA wouldn’t sell the advertising on the shelters in-house, Miller said it would cost more to hire additional staff to set up an advertising sales department than JTA would realize through a 15-25 percent royalty on advertising revenue. He described the current agreement that covers advertising on the buses as, “We get a check every month,” and added, “It would be too expensive for us to sell the ads and collect the payments. We’re into building roads and providing mass transit.”
He also assured the board that JTA will not issue a Request For Proposals for a third-party vendor until the proposed legislation is enacted by City Council and that the DDRB, Downtown Vision, Inc. and the City’s Historic Preservation Department would determine the design and placement of the proposed new shelters.
“The Downtown business community should embrace this and step up to assist the public/private partnership by buying up the space for art in public places,” commented DDRB Vice Chair Jim Bailey, who publishes the Financial News & Daily Record.
The recommendation to amend the ordinance was approved.
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