10-story downtown LED billboard may glow in new deal

The fate of downtown’s last towering LED billboard, a 10-story digital display outside the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), could be decided this week in a deal that would keep it glowing under newly proposed conditions.

On September 25, Miami city commissioners are to vote on whether to approve a settlement allowing PAMM to continue operating the sign in exchange for paying the city at least $500,000 a year and complying with new restrictions on its hours and brightness. If approved, the deal would resolve a legal battle and keep the soaring digital sign, the only one permitted under a now-repealed ordinance, as a fixture in downtown Miami.

Last May, commissioners rolled back a January 2023 resolution that allowed 100-foot-tall, illuminated, multi-faced signs up to 1,080 square feet each at an expanded list of locations including the Adrienne Arsht Center and PAMM. Commissioner Damian Pardo, who represents the primarily affected area, sponsored the repeal, saying the towering billboards disrupted residents’ quality of life and marred downtown’s aesthetics.

At that time, PAMM had already received a permit for the digital sign under the old legislation. When the city later adopted its new outdoor advertising ordinance, the display was deemed a “non-conforming use.” The city claimed PAMM violated its lease by erecting the billboard on city-owned land and issued a notice of default. PAMM sued for an injunction in Circuit Court, seeking to block the city from enforcing that notice. The city countered with its own claim, asking the court to clarify whether the sign could continue operating.

That litigation has been ongoing for more than a year. Now, the proposed settlement before the commission would resolve the dispute while setting clear conditions for the sign’s operation:

■Require PAMM to pay the city at least $500,000 annually for the duration of the license agreement.

■Require the sign to go completely dark between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. nightly.

■Limit the sign’s brightness to no more than 500 nits from sunset to sunrise, with automatic adjustments based on ambient light monitored by sensors.

■Cap any increase in ambient lighting to less than 0.3 foot-candles at 250 feet from the sign’s face.

If commissioners approve the deal, the city manager will be authorized to conclude the agreement, and for now, downtown’s last giant digital billboard will continue to glow.