st. paul

As it stands now, you won't see any digital billboards in St. Paul, which also means you won't see any traditional billboards coming down.

That's what one billboard company representative said Wednesday after the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance regulating the conversion of traditional billboards to electronic signs.

Tom McCarver, a vice president for Clear Channel Outdoor's Minnesota division, said two provisions in the ordinance make it unworkable for business. One requirement is that messages must stay in place for 12-seconds and the other is that 6 square feet of lighted billboard space or 8 square feet of unlighted space be removed for every square foot of new electronic display space. Those numbers just don't work, he said.

The ordinance limits electronic billboards to Interstates 35E and 94 only and says the signs must be spaced at least 1 mile apart.

John Mannillo, co-chairman of anti-billboard group Scenic St. Paul, said he was pleased to see the ordinance pass. "But I don't think this is the last you'll hear of it," he said.

Council Member Dave Thune said he would have liked more time to work with the billboard industry on a compromise and hinted that the issue might not be finished.

The council needed to approve an ordinance before the end of the month to ensure that one would exist when a one-year moratorium on electronic signs expires in late January.

In other action, the council:

• Unanimously approved the 2008 budget of $565 million, a $17 million increase over this year. "This budget makes tough choices and allows us to continue funding critical services while bringing St. Paul closer to financial stability," Mayor Chris Coleman said Wednesday.

• Unanimously approved raising restaurant and on-sale liquor license fees by 5 percent across the board. It's a reduction from the 25 percent increase originally proposed for 2008.

• Approved 5-2 the city's portion of the 2008 property tax levy. The total levy is about $82.6 million, or a 15 percent increase from this year.

Chris Havens • 651-298-1542