HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. >> There's a turf war in the skies over Southern California beaches, and Honolulu may have a role in deciding the winner. Oahu ban on air banners
gives hope in S. CaliforniaBeach communities want the right
to limit aerial advertisingAssociated Press
The battle targets banner-towing aircraft that advertise everything from liquor to software companies: Many complain the aircraft are a noisy nuisance.
For years, beach communities have been stymied in their efforts to curb the plane noise because airspace is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration, which has steadfastly supported the right of banner planes to operate.
But a recent federal appeals court ruling upholding the right of Honolulu to ban aerial advertising is giving towns from Laguna Beach to Manhattan Beach hope that they can impose regulations or establish an outright ban.
Huntington Beach Councilwoman Connie Boardman has proposed an ordinance, similar to Honolulu's, that would prohibit all banner towing and other aerial advertising over the city's beaches. If approved Monday, it would probably be a test case in California.
The planes "take away from the experience of the ocean," said Toni Iseman, a Laguna Beach councilwoman, who is considering a similar ordinance.
But Huntington Beach's proposed ordinance is sure to be fought by banner plane companies and the FAA, which is not ready to cede authority over airspace to local governments.
"This is not a finished deal, as far as the FAA is concerned," FAA spokesman Jerry Snyder said of the Honolulu case. "We are going to pursue this. We still believe the authority to control the airspace is federal."
Last January, the federal appeals court upheld U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor's October 1998 denial of a challenge to the city ordinance brought by SkySign International Inc.
Gillmor ruled that the state had an overwhelming aesthetic interest in what happened in the air because Hawaii's economy depends heavily on the beauty of the islands.
SkySign argued that state laws do not apply to the skies and that all regulation of air traffic was the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration, which had granted it certificates to operate over Oahu. SkySign filed suit in October 1997, after the Honolulu City Council moved in 1996 to ban the flights. The company had drawn community complaints over its use of a helicopter at night to tow a huge electronic sign 8 feet high and 36 feet long.
FAA officials said at the time that local ordinances could not pre-empt FAA regulations.
The federal appeals court ruled that Congress did not expressly bar local governments from enacting such ordinances, so Honolulu was free to do so.