A bill to curb noise and remove electronic billboards at Colorado State University has its first hearing on Thursday at the state capitol.
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Senator Cathy Kipp proposed the bill after receiving emails and hearing from residents about loud sounds from the stadium – like the train horn sound – and CSU’s new electronic billboards. Fort Collins doesn’t allow these types of billboards, but because CSU is on state land, it doesn’t have to obey that rule.
“The city doesn't really have any say, but you know, neither do the people who live in the neighborhoods around them,” Kipp said. “My constituents don't deserve to have to put up with very loud noises…and Fort Collins has sign ordinances. We just don't let people put up.”
CSU got the billboards for free from local ad company Street Media Group. The Collegian said in previous reporting that the sales manager believes the billboards will increase traction to local businesses, and both the company and the university will get revenue. Kipp doesn’t believe that is fair.
“I know they're like, ‘Oh, well, we want the revenue from them because we want to do stuff,’” she said. “And I'm like, ‘Yeah, if we let everybody put up the signs, everybody would want the revenue from them.’ And it just doesn't seem right that they get to do that.”
Kipp is happy to have CSU in Fort Collins, but thinks it should cooperate with the vision and feel of the town. The university did reach out to her with a proposal after the bill was announced. But she feels they are at a point of disagreement.
“They offered things like putting up an electronic dashboard so people could submit comments to it. And I'm like, ‘Well, that's the glorified suggestion box. What are you going to do with the comments?’” she said. “There was nothing of substance that I felt like was offered.”
Kipp’s bill says if you can see a sign from off-campus, it has to follow local rules.
“From what I can remember from as long as I've lived there, we don't have those things in our town,” she said. “It's just unsightly, and it just doesn't seem like they're being good neighbors with it.”
The bill also applies to loud noise. Additionally, local governments can grant waivers if needed.
In a statement, CSU said that the legislation would have a negative economic impact on Northern Colorado and set a concerning precedent for managing state lands.
The statement also said that the bill would “erode the public safety infrastructure the campus has put in place to support students and the broader community.” In the past, CSU has noted that these billboards would improve communication and alert students about emergencies. But reporting by KUNC News and The Rocky Mountain Collegian shows that students already have a text message alert system in place.
“Every student, every faculty member I've talked to have said, ‘Well, actually, the most effective way they can communicate with us is by sending us a text message,’” Kipp said. “So I'm not sure what they can do by putting up (these signs).”
The hearing of the bill starts in the Local Government & Housing Committee at 1:30 p.m.
