RAHM PROPOSES SPRINKLING RULES, BILLBOARD EXTENSION
Chicago homeowners and businesses will not be allowed to sprinkle their lawns on consecutive days between May 15 and Sept. 15 under a surprise change proposed Tuesday by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The catch- all “management ordinance” tied to the mayor’s 2017 budget would also extend for four years the city’s 20- year digital billboard agreement with a clout- heavy partnership that includes the French company that holds the Chicago bus shelter contract.
The original agreement called for JCDecaux and its partner, Interstate Outdoor Advertising, to put up 34 digital signs on city property adjacent to the Kennedy, Dan Ryan, Stevenson and Eisenhower expressways and the Skyway and Illinois Tollway.
The joint venture guaranteed Chicago taxpayers $ 15 million in 2013 and $ 154 million over the 20- year life of the contract.
The city hoped to generate as much as $ 270 million over 20 years through a revenuesharing arrangement that starts with 50 percent of the first $ 25 million in advertising revenue raised.
The digital billboard contract stirred controversy in 2012 with a handful of aldermen arguing the terms were not favorable enough to taxpayers. The deal was originally scheduled to expire in June 2032. It will now be extended under the same terms until June 2036.
Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown said the agreement was extended because of “unforeseen delays” with getting the digital billboards up, a process that has still not been completed.
Emanuel met privately last month with JCDecaux CEO Jean Francois Decaux, presumably to discuss the contract extension, according to his daily meeting schedule.
“We thought by this time we would have all of the signs up,” Brown said Tuesday. “In order to maximize the revenue potential, we thought it was prudent to extend the contract.”
The sprinkling ban prohibits Chicago homes and businesses from sprinkling their lawns on consecutive days during a period that starts May 15 and ends on Sept. 15. The ban will not apply to newly seeded or newly sodded lawns for 90 days.
Budget Director Alex Holt said the city code is simply being amended to coincide with state law at the request of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.