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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — The construction of a billboard in a convenience store parking lot is the subject of controversy, and it's not because of what it's advertising.
The billboard located in the 7-Eleven parking lot at 2300 East and Fort Union Boulevard is owned by Reagan Outdoor Advertising. Many are calling for it to be taken down, saying it obstructs mountain views.
Cottonwood Heights city officials said the billboard is considered a relocation of an existing billboard.
"We first applied for and received a permit to put the billboard in 2021," said Dewey Reagan, general manager of Reagan Outdoor Advertising. "Due to COVID and a shortage of capable construction employees, very tight labor market, we got behind on our construction schedule and have had to renew the permit several times."
Reagan said the company wasn't aware of the city's proposed plans to redevelop a plaza nearby until very recently. Critics of the billboard said it would obstruct views from the plaza.
Redevelopment of the Hillside Plaza will be on the ballot in November.
"If they go forward with those plans, provided that a mutually agreeable new location can be located, Reagan's not opposed to relocating the sign at some point in the future," Reagan said.
Reagan said the company has relocated billboards before. He said it comes with additional costs.
Cottonwood Heights officials wrote a message to the community on Facebook addressing the city's next steps.
"While new billboards are not allowed to be constructed in the city, Utah State Code preempts local zoning regulations and authorizes a billboard to be relocated up to 1 mile away from its original location upon written request to the city, with or without city approval. Reagan Outdoor Advertising originally requested this relocation in 2021, and work is now underway," the post stated.
A group organized a protest for Friday afternoon in support of taking down the billboard. Reagan said he wasn't aware of those plans until his interview with KSL-TV.
"We want to be good community partners, and that we only recently learned about the plans for the potential redevelopment of a different property that's in close to proximity to this one, and that we're not opposed to looking at relocating the sign having learned what's been contemplated there if it makes sense for the city and for Reagan to do so," he said.
