Houston Makes Agreement With Advertiser To Cut 800 Billboards

"The agreement to remove about two-thirds of Clear Channel's 1,347 small and medium-sized billboards from private property is expected to end two decades of litigation with the city and speed the elimination of signs that were slated to come down in 2013 anyway, company and city officials said."

"City officials estimate there are about 4,000 billboards in Houston and just outside its boundaries. Removing them has been a hotly contested battled since the city adopted an ordinance to regulate them in 1980."

"The agreement with Clear Channel settles a 1987 lawsuit challenging the city's sign ordinance."

"The agreement, which is effective for 20 years, is not intended to stop outdoor advertising, but to make less clutter, said Andy Icken, deputy director of the city's Department of Public Works and Engineering."

"Icken, who helped develop the agreement, said many of the signs to be removed are in residential areas."