Santa Monica Weighs Digital Billboard District Amid Preservation Concerns

November 6, 2025 by guest author, John Berkovich

Santa Monica, California, is considering a plan to introduce up to 16 large digital billboards along its famous Third Street Promenade and adjacent Santa Monica Place, marking another step in the city’s gradual embrace of digital out-of-home media after decades of resistance. 

The initiative, developed in partnership with Los Angeles-based Big Outdoor, expands on the city’s existing digital wayfinding and advertising kiosk program and has sparked debate over historic preservation, public safety, and economic recovery. The proposed Digital Display District Ordinance would permit digital displays of up to 1,000 square feet (93 square meters) on corner buildings along the pedestrian mall and at four sites within the adjacent shopping center. The city has already received four development agreement applications from operators seeking to install the signs under 30-year contracts.

As reported by invidis, the initiative extends a broader shift that began in 2023, when the city approved its first network of 50 digital information kiosks managed by Big Outdoor. Those wayfinding displays were introduced to provide interactive maps, business directories, and emergency alerts while generating new revenue through advertising sales. Half of the ad revenue is reinvested in the city, a model projected to contribute approximately US$14 million annually to the municipal budget.

For decades, Santa Monica has resisted outdoor advertising, maintaining a near-total ban on new billboards since 1985, even as neighboring Los Angeles became saturated with LED signs. That stance softened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when officials sought to offset economic losses and modernize communications infrastructure.

Supporters of the new ordinance argue that digital signage can enhance tourism, attract investment, and revitalize retail traffic along the promenade, while critics warn of visual clutter, light pollution, and threats to the district’s historic character. To address community concerns, the city has hosted open-house sessions where residents can view prototype kiosks and provide feedback on the design before installations proceed.

If adopted, the Third Street Promenade display district would mark Santa Monica’s most visible step yet into digital out-of-home media, transforming a pedestrian corridor once defined by restraint into a test case for balancing preservation with innovation.

(Image: City of Santa Monica)