Tucson Weekly: Board Silly (February 18

Billboard Baron Karl Eller Is Trying To Budge The City Council.
By Dave Devine
KARL ELLER, A 1946 graduate of Tucson High School, has made millions in several businesses during his professional career. He's so successful the University of Arizona recently named its Business School after him--but that might have more to do with the $10 million donation he gave the UA than with the fact that he built a convenience store empire.
When he purchased most of Tucson's billboards last year, Eller apparently thought he had enough clout to end the often bitter legalistic battles between the City of Tucson and local sign companies. He may have overestimated his muscle.
Several months ago, Eller's representatives met with city attorneys to discuss various billboard topics, including four legal cases now making their way through the appeals process. Those actions concern dozens of illegally located signs, billboards with improper cutouts or extensions, and signs which don't meet the city's lighting code standards (See "Billboard Games," January 22, 1998).
Currents The discussions focused on the legal steps the city is taking against 50 other billboards. Eller's representatives also wanted to discuss "tri-vision," giant rotating signs with three faces on each billboard.
Those meetings bore no fruit for Eller, because the Tucson City Council has made it clear it wants to enforce the law against billboard violations. The city also has the upper hand in most of the court cases now under appeal.
Despite that, Eller later lobbied each Council member to explain his position. He says he's "trying to work with city officials to negotiate a compromise."
Eller told some of those he met with that he had four votes on the City Council to negotiate an agreement in lieu of the legal battles. But at a recent City Council executive session to discuss the billboard enforcement program, Eller's addition proved to be incorrect. Only Mayor George Miller spoke in favor of the idea.
Before that meeting behind closed doors, several Council members said they didn't support Eller. Ward 5 Councilman Steve Leal and Ward 3 Councilman Jerry Anderson denied they supported the plan. A staffer for Ward 4 Councilwoman Shirley Scott indicated she wasn't backing the plan. Ward 2 Councilwoman Janet Marcus said she hadn't said much of anything when she met with Eller.
Eller said last week that he thought a compromise on the billboard issue was the best solution. He hopes for a plan that will satisfy everyone, but if that's not possible, his company will continue to fight the city in court.
Anderson says Eller's offer is unreasonable because he doesn't want to take down obviously illegal billboards before negotiations begin. Given that, Anderson thinks the city shouldn't waste its time in trying to negotiate a settlement.
And while Eller talks compromise with the Council, he's waging war on another front: the state Capitol, where he's lobbying several state legislators on a bill which would severely limit the city's ability to take legal action against billboards. This legislation, if it were to become law, would also make a mockery of the billboard enforcement inititative Tucson voters approved in 1985. Eller could not be reached for comment concerning the proposed legislation, House Bill 2671.

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