Politics

Lamar Returns To Square One For $2M Billboard

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― It's the advertising sign that wreaked havoc in city hall, but after months of haggling, the resignation of one city official and the investigation of another, a compromise has been reached.

City Development Czar Pat Ford is on a leave of absence after being accused of circumventing normal approvals to get the sign a permit. Now, Lamar has agreed to go back to square one and try to get the permit the proper way.

"Lamar agrees that the City of Pittsburgh's zoning administrator may revoke the existing sign permit," Lamar attorney Samuel Kamin said.

Attorneys for Lamar agreed to go back to square one and get the necessary approvals to continue work on the $2 million dollar electronic sign, which has been nearly assembled on the front of the new Grant Street transportation center downtown.

The councilman who took the lead with other council members in fighting that permit, hailed it as a victory for open government.

"It's essentially a victory for process and the public and this is most important," city council member Patrick Dowd said. "The public who had no say whatsoever in the sign now has a say."

Lamar agreed that they would secure the sign and suspend all further work until the zoning board decides whether the sign is in compliance with city codes, running the risk that they may be ordered to take it down.

Their attorneys say that the billboard company did nothing wrong in acquiring the initial permit.

"I think we are caught in the cross fires of some political bickering. We have done nothing wrong. We followed the rules - the rules happened to changed in the middle of the game," Kamin said.

But as the dust settles on this sign controversy, another one is looming with the revelation that Pat Ford may have approved three additional signs for a Seattle, Wash., firm, also without standard approvals.

The two heads of that firm then contributed $12,500 each to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's campaign.

Ravenstahl said the contributions had no bearing on his actions, since he had no involvement in issuing that permit.

"They contributed based on the fact that I would imagine that they thought I was the best candidate for the office of the mayor and I'm happy to have their contribution and I'm happy to have a lot of folks' contributions," Ravenstahl said.

Now, the mayor says he will conduct an internal review to find out about the issuing of this permit and whether zoning codes were bypassed.

Those signs were put up and then taken down, but the mayor says he doesn't know why.

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