Council bill revives Electric Factory ‘wall wrap’ fight

The fight over a billboard on the Electric Factory building - perhaps the most litigated sign in the city - has returned.

After a decade of legislation and lawsuits over whether the owners could throw a "wall wrap" advertisement over their building at Seventh and Callowhill Streets, the proposal was thought dead when chief patron Frank DiCicco retired from City Council this year.

But DiCicco's successor, Mark Squilla, resurrected the proposal on Thursday with a twist.

Under his bill, 20 percent of the advertising revenue would go to three local elementary schools and possibly several community groups.

"It would be like an advertisement impact fee, where the people who have to put up with this would then be able to garnish some benefit from it," Squilla said.

Opponents - and there will be many - are likely to see the revenue sharing as a way to sugarcoat an unpalatable idea.

"In terms of ways of getting revenue for schools, this just doesn't pass the smell test," said Stephanie Kindt, a staff lawyer with the advocacy group Scenic Philadelphia, a staunch opponent of billboards.

The first Electric Factory wall wrap went up 12 years ago, launching a legal fight with neighborhood groups and Scenic Philadelphia - formerly SCRUB - that lasted through 2009.

The wall most famously featured a huge ad for the bourbon Maker's Mark, visible from the Vine Street Expressway.

DiCicco sought to get the wall wrap approved through Council - his last legislative gambit was to create an outdoor advertising district around the Electric Factory building, known for the music venue.

DiCicco's bill passed, but Mayor Nutter vetoed it.

Scenic Philadelphia argued that the wall wrap would violate federal and state highway laws and called DiCicco's efforts illegal spot zoning. Neighbors, including Independence National Historical Park, also opposed the billboard.

Many of those same arguments undoubtedly will be revisited with Squilla's bill, which would allow a large digital sign on the property, at 421 N. Seventh St.

An "ad hoc alliance" to support the bill has been brought together with the help of Jeff Hornstein, a community and union organizer who ran against Squilla in the primary.

The alliance includes the parent-teacher organizations for the nearby Spring Garden, Kearny, and McCall Elementary Schools. Revenue from the billboard - as much as $125,000 per school per year - would be funneled through those parent-teacher groups.

"The principals, as you can imagine, are extremely excited in the face of massive budget cuts to have a decent revenue stream," Hornstein said.

Hornstein also said he has approached community organizations representing the Old City, Callowhill, West Poplar, Chinatown, and Northern Liberties neighborhoods.

He said two - Callowhill and Old City - refused to support the billboard and potentially share in the revenue stream.

Hornstein noted that several Council members - including President Darrell L. Clarke - have advocated advertising as a way to raise money for the city and the schools.

"This is the wave of the future," he said. "Look, I'm not a huge fan of billboards myself, but this one is relatively low-impact. . . . I wouldn't have gotten involved in it if I didn't think it was a really good deal."