Originally published in the Park Bugle, September 2026.
Anyone who regularly travels through the Interstate 94 and Highway 280 interchange has probably seen it.
High above the highway in the Westgate area of South St. Anthony Park sits a large billboard at 2516 Wabash Avenue. This summer, a proposal to convert its east-facing sign into a digital display brought the site back before the community – and renewed a much longer conversation about billboards in St. Anthony Park.
Outfront Media sought approval from the City of Saint Paul to convert the existing 672-square-foot billboard face into a dynamic digital display. Because the existing billboard is a legal nonconforming use, the proposal required City approval of a nonconforming use permit and two variances.
SAPCC’s Land Use Committee reviewed the request this summer and recommended that the Council oppose the proposal. The full SAPCC Board subsequently agreed and submitted a formal letter to the Saint Paul Planning Commission outlining its concerns.
Some of those concerns involved the specific application.
Saint Paul requires billboard faces to be permanently removed when new dynamic display space is created. The applicant proposed using billboard removals that had occurred several years earlier to satisfy that requirement. SAPCC questioned whether allowing those earlier removals to count would accomplish the City’s broader goal of reducing billboards over time.
But the Council’s concerns went beyond the technical requirements of this particular application.
SAPCC has a longstanding history of opposing new and expanded billboard uses in the district and supporting City policies that gradually reduce their number. The Council’s letter raised concerns about visual and light pollution, driver distraction near the busy I-94 and Highway 280 interchange, and the effect another dynamic display could have on the character of Westgate and surrounding South St. Anthony Park.
That location matters.
Westgate has changed significantly over the years, with new housing, businesses, public spaces, and other investments reshaping the area around the Green Line and Highway 280. SAPCC believes decisions made today should also consider what this part of the neighborhood may look like years from now.
“We understand that this is an existing billboard, but converting it to a digital display is still a meaningful change,” said Zev Radziwill, SAPCC Executive Director. “Westgate continues to grow and change, and we think it’s important to look at these decisions not just in terms of what’s there today, but the kind of neighborhood we’re building for the future.”
The application had been expected to come before the Saint Paul Planning Commission on July 31. Before the Commission took action, SAPCC learned that Outfront Media had withdrawn its request.
That means the Planning Commission did not approve or deny the proposal.
And it doesn’t necessarily mean the issue is gone for good.
Billboard proposals have come before SAPCC and the City previously, including requests involving this same Wabash Avenue site. SAPCC will continue following future proposals affecting the site and the broader question of digital signage in District 12.
It’s also a good example of the work that happens every month at SAPCC’s Land Use Committee.
Development proposals, zoning requests, variances, major redevelopment projects, and other land use questions regularly come before the committee. Neighbors can hear about proposals, ask questions, share feedback, and better understand what’s changing around St. Anthony Park before the full Council considers whether to take a position.
You don’t need to be a land use expert to participate.
If something is being proposed down the street, around the corner, or high above the highway, the Land Use Committee is one place to learn more about it.
SAPCC's Land Use Committee meets monthly. Meeting information, agendas, and ways to participate are available at sapcc.org/.