COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — Cottonwood Heights residents are not afraid to advertise their animosity towards a billboard that they claim is an eyesore.
"Holy moly, that thing is ginormous," said Rudy, who only refused to give his last name. "Who wants to have a marketing piece blown into your eyes every time you're going to work and coming home from work?"
The billboard at issue, which went up Thursday, is at Fort Union Boulevard and 2300 East.
Rudy doesn’t hide his feelings (only his name) that he was taken aback, and he's not alone.
"First thing that came to mind is how reasonable is it to have a sign that’s usually on the freeway in a neighborhood?' asked another resident who refused to give his name.
Despite the pushback, it turns out the city has no say when it comes to the billboard which is owned by Reagan Outdoor Advertising.
Though the city forbids billboards, a state law that trumps city zoning regulations allows those grandfathered into the city to be moved as long as it's within one mile of its original location.
"Telling me how I have to live in my neighborhood, I mean, we’re not talking about state-funded housing, we’re talking about a sign, a quality of life issue," Rudy said.
Dewey Reagan, the president and general manager of Reagan Outdoor Advertising, claims the permit to move the sign was originally granted in 2021 but was delayed due to the pandemic. Reagan said the company is more than willing to work with the city to find another location for the billboard once it's determined how those costs will be absorbed.
"Nobody’s anti-business," replied Rudy. "It's more about working together. That everyone can be happy with how we live..and what we live around."
The location of the billboard is adjacent to the Hillside Plaza, which Cottonwood Heights is looking to redevelop into a city hub, with a bond issue on the November ballot to fund the project.
