Mayor Demands Inspection of Billboards

Environmentalists and Atlanta area civic leaders wary of sprawl have complained for years about the huge billboards that dot suburban skylines, criticizing them as enormous eyesores.

After the collapse of a billboard Thursday in suburban Snellville that killed three workers, the critics say the signs are dangerous too.

The mayor of Snellville called an emergency City Council meeting and demanded that six similar billboards nearby be dismantled.

“The city’s order will be considered an emergency public safety order, and the order will be that the signs be taken down for the purpose of inspection,” Mayor Brett Harrell said.