KEY POINTS:
Public hearings start today into an overhaul of bylaws to ban billboards in central Auckland and cut signage across the city. The City Vision-led plan aims to make the city more attractive to visitors and workers.
Columnist Brian Rudman writes: "Opponents of Auckland City's proposed sign and billboard bylaws would have us believe Pol Pot was pulling the strings."
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Greg Scowen
Observation as an ex-Aucklander. During extensive travels throughout the world I have never encountered as much billboard pollution, in a small area, as that of central Auckland. It is overrated advertising medium that as far as I recall has never persuaded me to buy something. Thank goodness this problem isn't as severe in Dunedin, where we still get to enjoy the odd historical building or two.
Morris Cutforth
Having spent some time in Paris I agree with the proposal to reduce signage in our biggest city. In Auckland we are bombarded with advertising from the street and I call this "visual pollution". If we wish to base our society on USA cities where everything is big and bold then the status quo should remain. However, if we wish to highlight our natural and beautiful landscape, just as Paris highlights its beautiful and spectacular art then let's do away with hideous and unnecessary signage.
Cameron Brewer (Newmarket Business Association)
On Auckland City Council's proposed changes to signs and billboards Dr Bruce Hucker says he's putting his trust in the process. That would be fine if the public shared his confidence. At huge expense the council is about to engage in nine days of public hearings to listen to over 400 public submissions that are overwhelmingly against what was open to public consultation until 2 March. However the goal posts have since moved. On 30 March council officers sent the Bylaw Hearings Panel a report recommending a number of changes to the proposed bylaws. Whilst many of the recommendations may be more favourable, publicly mooting considerable amendments between written submissions closing and verbal submissions opening does not make for good public consultation. Verbal submitters will not be able to fairly gage what they are indeed giving feedback on. Do they give their views on the initial proposed changes or the many amendments to clauses that have since been tabled? The whole process is discredited. First the Hearings Panel was politically stacked and now to take the sing out of the hearings process the rules have changed mid-stream. The sooner this farce is replaced with a constructive working party the better.
Marc Checkley
A total ban is crazy, rationale puerile. I'm all for limiting their size and placement. But in all honesty without some billboards we'd have nothing else to look at other than the god-ugly apartments all over the city. And boy are there a heap of them!
Aaron Lane
Billboards are the life of a city!! If they ban billboards can they ban the taxes gathered from businesses earning money for them council/ government! Plain stupid- go live in the country if you dont like them.... like I do !!
Kevin
A ridiculous proposal that will only see jobs lost and advertising companies and the many that survive from them struggle. Take a drive down K road on most evenings or the following morning and the billboards will be the last thing you see that is unpleasant.
Reyes
I believe that billboards are a great feature to have in a city. It creates an atmosphere of being in a city. After all Auckland, I consider is semi-metropolitan. Take a look at the decrepit buildings in and around Auckland City itself; that's meant to be character? Isn't the council of Auckland City always talking about creating a future image? Grow some balls and get real. If you want to see clean and green all around; move out to a farm or lifestyle block. Its time to be Hip-Metro and embrace neon lights and big billboards, who is it really affecting? Move and embrace future changes, if it doesn't work - try another.
Hine Wikiriwhi
I work on level 8 at 280 Queen St. The view from my work window is of a guy/girl in the mento gum ad. The person is male but I do not think that this ad or their TV ad is tasteful.This billboard takes up the side of a building. I am in favour of the Council banning billboards that are sexually exploitive.
Christopher
Implement the proposed bylaw in full. We, citizens, have suffered enough at the hands of an industry (and a few dictorial kill-joys) hell bent on profit at the expense of sullying our collective public space.
Zpete
With smaller signage the city will become traffic will become impossible. People looking for a business, shop, whatever will be dawdling their vehicles down Queen St searching and holding up traffic. That will happen in all centres with these restrictions. Visiting Saigon recently, one most noticeable feature was "every" shop business had their name, street number, address, prominently displayed on the frontage. Brilliant. Make a similar bylaw here, many shops, businesses etc here do NOT have their names, or street number displayed.
Johannes Rol
I much prefer the billboards' dynamic images and colourful, witty banter to Auckland's drab and limited "architecture" and cityscape.
Aklesha
Once again it's the councils way to make more money for its coffers and has no practical benefit to the community. I sm sure there's more beneficial things they can expend their energies on, but then they wouldnot be making any money on that, would they?
RJ
I think the amount of billboards, and their content, make Auckland look cheap and untidy. That said, I support the right of building/business owners to advertise their own business (not other businesses). No surprise to hear the whining of the billboard and signage industries, who think that the visual pollution of our city, for their profit, is their god-given right.
B.Herbert
Leave the billboards alone! Any loss of council revenue to be recovered from free spending councillors (note that one is in sunny Spain - O to have a nice holiday)! These leftwing pc lot seem to think that business is dirty and objectionable but are unable to connect the dots when it comes to who to paying.
Angela
There are already sufficient regulations in place to control billboards. The cost of billboard sites in the city means that advertisers generally make billboards attractive and, while it's still advertising, it's more interesting than staring at a blank concrete wall. Certain members of Auckland City Council seem to forget that part of the city is about commerce and retail. Generally billboards complement this function. The attempt to ban billboards (rather than dealing with any loopholes by refining the existing bylaws) is in part a reflection of the anti-business/'capitalism' sentiment of some (not all) parts of Auckland City Council.To try to pass the proposed ban as improving Auckland's urban design, reflects a lack of respect for Aucklander's - ratepayer's - intelligence. As noted, any outstanding urban design issues, can be dealt with by amending bylaws. Interestingly, the large billboard on the Tingey building at the corner of Beach Road and Customs Street was installed and maintained by Auckland City Council. The billboard breaches a number of Auckland City's own bylaws - eg covers windows, covers a historic building, size.
Anon
Absolutely get rid of them! We are bombarded with advertising from the the moment we wake until we go to bed: in our newspapers, magazines, internet, TV, radio etc etc etc... why can't I go for a walk down the road and get some respite from the barrage of advertising messages? Billboards are an eyesore in every possible way. We don't need them; they have no value for the public. Those who don't want to get rid of them are short-sighted and concerned only with their own bank balance rather than the collective good.
Mike Hopkins
The council proposals are entirely reasonable. Sure, it won't make Auckland into Paris but it will make it look a bit less like a third rate fun fair. The objections to them are a frantic and orchestrated effort by commercial interests to maintain a carte blanche situation where the visual harmony of many is sacrificed to the selfish gain of a few people to whom money is more important than anything else. Why preserve interesting old buildings at all if you are going to obscure them with crass signs?
Martina Himme
I am against the ban. As long as the billboards comply with advertising standards and don't impair traffic etc., I believe they add colour to the city. A lot of them are very imaginative and entertaining.
