Downtown Las Vegas buildings could soon feature supergraphics signs

Massive photos of scantily clad models could be popping up on building facades in downtown Las Vegas, as long as they’re not too scantily clad.

The City Council on Wednesday approved an ordinance that would allow owners of hotels and other big buildings to wrap their property with giant “supergraphics” signs.

The vote 4-2 vote followed a lengthy debate, with some council members worried that opening the door to the giant signs would result in racy content dominating the downtown skyline.

“There is a lot of skin involved in the business,” said Councilman Bob Coffin, whose ward includes the downtown casino corridor. “The second real skin starts to show, the others will be pressured to do the same thing.”

Coffin pushed for a version of the ordinance that would require a sign review every year, as opposed to every three years as sponsor Councilman Steve Ross wanted.

The shorter review period was portrayed as a way for the council to provide stricter oversight, even though they acknowledged the government’s power to regulate content on signs is limited.

Councilman Ricki Barlow, who made the motion to approve the ordinance with the one-year review, made clear the hope that sign owners would regulate their own content more closely knowing a review was never too far off.

“Knowing that this one-year hammer was held over your head, if you will, you are going to make sure everything is ... to the taste of the council,” Barlow said. “That is a nice wedge where the council still has a say in content without having to say we are against this particular content.”

Although council members worried about potential content on the signs, there are limitations aimed at keeping building wraps from turning into unregulated billboards.

Under the ordinance they can only be used to highlight a prominent product or service offered within the building behind the sign. For example, a casino could use a wrap to highlight its name or a show in its showroom. It couldn’t rent the space out to a third-party company to advertise beer, potato chips or anything else.

Building-sized signs are already in place on the D and the former Lady Luck, which is under renovation and is expected to open this year under the name Downtown Grand.

Ross and Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony, both of whom supported a three-year review, voted against the ordinance.

Ross said property owners invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the signs and shouldn’t have to worry they’ll be forced to remove them after only a year.

“These are huge investments by downtown gamers,” Ross said. “The approval process is arduous enough.”

In other business the council:

—Approved a new license category that will make it easier to develop brew pubs.

—Approved $42,000 in grants to offset code compliance and facade improvement grants for Mingo’s, an “American comfort food” restaurant that recently opened at 1017 S. First St.

—Approved $45,000 in grant money for owners of La Comida, an upscale Mexican restaurant that recently opened at 106 S. Sixth St.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285 .