The shadows cast by the many billboards throughout Houston will soon be replaced by sunlight. Scenic Houston and Mayor Bill White recently joined to celebrate the 100th billboard removed as part of an April agreement that the organization helped negotiate between the city and Clear Channel Outdoor. “Removing hundreds of billboards that have blighted our streets and neighborhoods for decades is a real win for the citizens of Houston, and a tremendous quality of life accomplishment,” said Olga L. Moya, president of Scenic Houston. The 821 billboard structures covered in the agreement are all small billboard structures, and 39 percent of the corporation’s medium-sized billboard structures. After they are removed, only 466 of Clear Channel’s medium-sized structures will remain in Houston and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. More than 50 of the billboards are to be removed from designated scenic districts. Several small and medium billboards in The Examiner’s coverage will be removed including those located at 2728 Buffalo Speedway, and 1100 and 2900 Westheimer Road. “For the citizens and the quality of life in Texas, this means a tremendous reduction in visual blight,” said Scenic Houston’s Anne Culver. In 1980, Houston passed a law prohibiting the construction of new billboards. At that time there were 10,000. Today, there are 4,000 left. “The city is cleaning up what is essentially a dead medium and yet these billboards continue to exist,” Culver said. One of Scenic Houston’s greatest concerns is that some of the old billboards in the low socio-economic neighborhoods heavily advertise fast-food and alcohol. Many, she said, are in areas plagued with health problems, such as a high concentration of diabetes. “We have 721 to go, but we are going to chip away where we can and we see that as a success for the citizens,” Culver said. The agreement has no impact on the big billboards, also called bulletin boards because they are protected federally. Scenic Houston considers these the biggest eyesores. “Since the billboard ban was instituted in 1980 knowing that Houston would be redeveloped and that there would be a land turnover,” Culver said, “you can go down great stretches of major thoroughfares and with no billboards. It’s jarring when you go to other areas of town where the redevelopment has not occurred.” Michelle Costa, president of the Clear Channel Houston Division said the company’s settlement agreement with the city allowed for a nine-month removal time frame which means all signs should be removed by Feb. 9, 2009. She said Clear Channel doesn’t have an estimate of the amount of revenue that will be lost due to the removal of the signs. Scenic Houston is the only nonprofit entity focused on ending visual blight from billboards, signs and other roadside clutter in the city. For further information, visit ScenicHouston.org.