LOS ANGELES – Seven months after the contract expired on the Regency Outdoor Advertising Billboard, today the company began to remove the billboard from the entrance to San Pedro.
For years, the residents of San Pedro have been working to take down the billboard at 427 N. Gaffey Street. In 2015, the City of Los Angeles authorized the acquisition of the property in an effort to improve visibility, safety and public access to the San Pedro community by removing the billboard structure.
Up until 2022, the outdoor advertising company was leasing the space on the property for a large billboard. However, at the end of 2022 the lease expired and the billboard continued to be used for advertising purposes.
“This is a great day for the community. The San Pedro residents came together, organized and persevered to beat a big, billion dollar Goliath,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker. “This is something we’ve been working on for decades and I’m pleased that today we delivered it.”
This removal comes after months of the City’s insistence that the billboard company vacate the premises. The company had continuously denied the city’s demands to remove the billboard and billboard structures. The city sent a letter on December 28th requesting the plans by January 15 for removal to which the company did not respond.
In February, the City of Los Angeles served Regency Outdoor Advertising with an Unlawful Detainer lawsuit for failing to take down the billboard and vacate the property. Despite this, Regency continued to advertise on this billboard, even placing an ad the week they were sued, and two months after their contract expired saying, ‘Your LOGO would look great here’.
The billboard is located at the end of the 110 Freeway at the entrance to San Pedro. Throughout the past few years the billboard has advertised an array of messages ranging from retirement community ads to “Say No To Mask Mandates.”
On his first day of Council in December 2022, McOsker introduced a motion to instruct the Department of General Services to issue all necessary notices to the owner and lessee of the property to remove the billboard and vacate the property.
The removal process will continue over the next two days.
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