The C100 has been an active advocate for laws and regulations aimed at limiting the intrusion of commercial signage on city streetscapes, as well as strict enforcement of existing sign laws.
Digital signage placed on a building in Gallery Place in Washington, DC at the entrance to Chinatown.
Large digital signage placed on the Capitol One Arena building at the intersection of 7th and F Streets NW in Washington DC.
In 2010, the C100 successfully opposed a proposal for expansion of the allowable number of Special Sign Permits and the special signage that was proposed for Gallery Place. The C100 developed a guide to cover the provisions of DC law and regulations regarding signs that are of principle concern because of the scale and their potential negative impact on the visible environment.
5G Small Cell Technology
Small cell technology is a lower-powered antenna technology needed to provide wireless service in high-density, high-demand areas, supplementing and complementing service provided by cell towers. Thousands of small cell units are expected to be installed in the District, raising major issues on clutter, the impacts on viewsheds, the monumental core, all neighborhoods, impacts in historic districts, and street trees. This new technology requires infrastructure be installed in closer proximity to the users on the ground.
Testimony given for the Committee of 100 on the Federal City a the Council of the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole Public Hearing on Bill 25-468, Sign Regulations Amendment Act of 2023 on October 7, 2024.
The draft guidelines as they stand now are simply a giveaway to industry and there are still far too many questions unanswered. Precise information must be extracted from industry and the DC government as to the actual practical consequences, both immediate and longer term, of what is currently being proposed and pushed.
The Committee of 100 on the Federal City (C100) is urging the DC Council to budget for additional staff and funds for the Office of Planning (OP) to fulfill the agency’s long-standing promises to preserve and protect neighborhood character and to perform a serious, rigorous assessment of the impacts of digital billboards on residents and office workers.
The Committee of 100 on the Federal City, along with individuals and groups from across the city, has written to Mayor Muriel Bowser urging her to drop any efforts to legitimize the illegal digital billboards installed at eight locations in Wards 2, 3 and 6 last year by Digi Media Communications LLC (“Digi”) without a permit.
We are aware that representatives of Digi Media Communications LLC (“Digi”) are urging your administration to take action to legitimize the digital billboards that it installed last year without lawful authorization at various locations in the District. For two reasons, we strongly urge you to reject any such request.
The AG’s insistence on code enforcement in the DigiMedia case, backed up with legal action, inspires citizen confidence. We urge the Council, the Executive and the AG to identify specific new ways to operate like this in all aspects of city governance.
