DOWNEY - Downey will collect at least $80,000 per year in annual revenue after the City Council agreed to allow installation of a 55-ft. digital billboard along the 5 Freeway. After receiving assurances that the billboard will not spill light into nearby homes, council members approved the development agreement Tuesday with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).

The two-sided billboard is going up at 7878 Telegraph Rd. on a 9-acre parcel of land currently used as a maintenance facility for Metro.

In exchange for allowing the billboard, Downey receives an annual fee of $80,000 or 25 percent of the billboard's net revenue, whichever is greater.

Downey also is entitled to 30 days of free advertising annually, or it can sell its time slots and collect 25 percent of the proceeds.

Metro officials said they maintain strict standards on the type of advertising permitted on their billboards. Ads containing pornography, tobacco, marijuana or political messages are not allowed, they said.

Billboard advertisements will remain static for an average of eight seconds before cycling to the next image, officials said.

********** Published: Aug. 29, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 20