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The Redwood City Council will consider installing a digital billboard along Highway 101 after voting Monday to authorize staff to negotiate terms for a potential agreement, with Council members Kaia Eakin and Marcella Padilla opposing the decision.
“I think that this digital billboard may represent a modern-day Pandora’s box — once opened, difficult to contain, and laden with consequences that reach far beyond their initial promises of modest revenue,” Padilla said.
Currently, City Code Section 3.72 prohibits the installation and maintenance of billboards within city limits.
At Monday’s meeting, staff asked the council for permission to work with Outfront-Foster Interstate to begin negotiations on possible agreement terms, and prepare proposed changes to the city’s sign ordinance and a future lease. All of these steps are related to potentially placing a digital billboard at 350 Convention Way. The council would review and vote on the final proposal at a later meeting.
The discussion drew mixed reactions from the council. Some members questioned how much the city would benefit financially, while others raised concerns about the content of future advertisements.
The April 15, 2024, adoption of the city’s Two-Year Economic and Workforce Development Plan included a goal to explore digital billboard opportunities as a potential revenue stream.
Later that year, on Oct. 14, the council approved a phased plan to permit digital billboards in the city, starting with just one. Most council members agreed that a digital billboard could help reduce the city’s budget deficit. Eakin opposed the plan, citing safety and environmental concerns.
According to a staff report, the initial fees provided by O/FI would be used for city beautification projects, and a long-term agreement could generate millions of dollars in revenue over its lifetime. The display would show static images with an eight-second hold time and adjust brightness based on the time of day and ambient light conditions, according to the report.
The proposal, however, does not include an overnight shutdown between midnight and 6 a.m., despite earlier suggestions from several council members.
Reducing the total number of billboards in the city has remained a long-standing goal. During a previous study session, the council emphasized this priority. O/FI currently operates three static billboards east of Highway 101 near San Carlos, all on privately owned land. According to the staff report, the company has no interest in removing those permitted signs.
During Monday’s discussion, Padilla expressed concern about the content of potential advertisements. Because the city must remain neutral and cannot regulate billboard content, she said she worries about messaging that may be divisive or distracting to drivers.
Padilla said she supports freedom of speech but also wants to protect the community from content they did not opt into, especially because of the current political climate.
“I want to work on building unity and not sowing seeds of division in our community,” she said. “And I think that this might be a slippery slope.”
Eakin raised similar concerns about driver safety, noting that the frequent image changes could be physically distracting. She also referenced the council’s previous goal of reducing signage along the bay.
“The council has already opined, fairly recently, studied it and said no digital billboards…” Eakin said. “Let’s have an overwhelming, compelling reason to revisit that already studied opinion.”
Padilla and Eakin also questioned the billboard’s impact on the city’s aesthetics.
“But I don’t know that the sign is going to make or break the beauty of our freeway,” Councilmember Isabella Chu said.
Councilmembers Chris Sturken and Jeff Gee said they would like to see at least one existing billboard removed as part of any agreement. Gee suggested this could be phased over the next 20 years.
“Because it’s such a lucrative and expensive deal to the benefit of the city, to the landlord, it doesn’t pencil to remove those signs,” said Alex Bellinson, a representative from O/FI.
He added the company is open to working with staff on potential adjustments, but cannot guarantee the removal of any current billboards.
In the end, the council voted to approve a letter of interest to show the city’s willingness to consider the billboard at 350 Convention Way, authorized staff to negotiate possible terms, and directed them to return with a final proposal and any needed changes to the sign ordinance if the project moves forward.
