Sunset Strip Billboards
The Sunset Strip is an internationally famous corridor, known for its entertainment venues and nightlife, as well as its rich history of creative signage. In recent years, the City of West Hollywood identified a need to reinvigorate signage on the Strip to continue the legacy of creativity and innovation.
Project Facts
- City of West Hollywood
- 1.6 miles of Sunset Boulevard between Los Angeles and Beverly Hills
- 74 existing billboard faces & 15 tall wall signs
- Densest concentration of billboards and tall wall signs on the west coast
- New policy envisioning 20 digital billboards & digital public art
The Challenge
Development along the Strip is competitive and often controversial. The City aimed to develop and implement a new billboard policy to encourage unique, imaginative signage while preserving the history and iconic character of the Sunset Strip, safeguarding its existing resources, such as historic buildings and famous views, and protecting nearby neighborhoods. While ensuring environmental protections, the City also aimed to streamline the environmental review process for future billboard projects developed under the new policy.
The Solution
Dudek worked with the City to develop a billboard policy that responds to City and community concerns regarding lighting impacts, cultural resources impacts, visual impacts, increased energy usage, etc. Dudek also authored an environmental document that provides CEQA review for certain types of signage projects, allowing the City to approve some projects without undertaking new, separate CEQA documents. The City has since selected multiple projects through design screening that can begin the development process.
Dudek’s legacy on the Sunset Strip also includes CEQA documentation for major redevelopment projects, zoning ordinance updates, amendments to the Sunset Specific Plan, and the iconic Sunset Spectacular digital billboard, which is a pilot project for the City’s new billboard policy.