A few years ago, the City Council passed an ordinance aimed at limiting the impact of billboards on the city's landscape.

But bit by bit, the council has allowed new billboards to crop up, many of them digital or wrapped around buildings downtown.

This morning, a speaker named Valentina Collins said enough is enough when it comes to billboards.

"These billboards do the opposite of revitalization. Nobody wants to see them except the people who benefit from them," Collins said.

She said the council had made the mistake of bowing to pressure from developers and landowners over regular citizens.

She said the new digital billboards are the most pernicious, not only because they are more distracting to drivers than traditional billboards but because they use enormous amounts of energy.

At that point Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway - a marketer and promoter by trade who has used a few billboards in his day - stepped in.

"I simply love those digitals. I don't agree they are a distraction," he said.

Council member Steve Salazar said that the city does need to take another look at the energy use of the digital billboards. The rest of the council had nothing to add.