ARLINGTON – An electronic sign and two billboards flanking I-5 near Arlington are too big and too close to exit ramps to pass muster with state transportation officials.
The state can’t do anything about it, though, because the advertisements are on land owned by the Stillaguamish Indian Tribe.
The electronic sign will soon light up to point drivers to the tribe’s Angel of the Winds Casino.
The nearby billboards, just steel frames now, will be filled with advertisements.
“I could care less if the (state Department of Transportation) makes an issue of my signs,” Stillaguamish Tribe Executive Eddie Goodridge Jr. said. “They don’t have jurisdiction on tribal property.”
The signs have angered some north Snohomish County residents, who said they fear distracted drivers could cause accidents. And they aren’t too happy about seeing business pick up at the casino.
“Even if they can do whatever the heck they want, this is so out of proportion to what seems appropriate,” said Catherine Cloud of Stanwood.
Only the sign, which stands a few stories tall, will feature the casino.
The billboards, which are not nearly as tall, will be leased out to Clear Channel, which in turn rents the space to advertisers, Goodridge said, adding that he did not know the exact dimensions of the billboards.
Calls to the British Columbia-based company completing the project were not returned.
State officials said they have not heard any complaints. Even so, state rules do not apply.
“What we’re dealing with here is basically an international law,” said Pat O’Leary, a traffic regulations specialist with the Department of Transportation. “Federal laws and state laws do not have jurisdiction on Indian land.”
State and federal regulations prohibit billboards from being placed closer than two miles ahead of an interstate exit, and not within 1,000 feet after an on-ramp, O’Leary said.
Billboards also are limited to 150 square feet.
It’s not uncommon for American Indian tribes to rent out billboards that are oversized or placed close to interstate exits, O’Leary said.
The Puyallup tribe has rented out several between Tacoma and Seattle, he said.
That practice has sparked a dispute over jurisdiction on tribal land, with the city of Puyallup demanding removal of one sign estimated to stand 80 feet tall.
The city admits it has no jurisdiction.
The Tulalip Tribes have a sign ordinance that is similar to the state’s, said Steve Gobin, deputy general manager of Quil Ceda Village.
Signs for Seattle Premium Outlets and Quil Ceda Village were erected as part of the business park’s economic development, he said.
“We don’t want billboard signs, for the most part. We’ve disallowed them out here,” Gobin said. “We don’t want to become a forest of billboard signs.”
This isn’t the first time the Stillaguamish Tribe has upset some by having a sign near the freeway.
In April 2005, state transportation officials asked the tribe to remove a sign advertising the Angel of the Winds Casino that was attached to a trailer.
Goodridge owned the land the trailer was on, not the tribe. The tribe agreed to remove the sign but said then that they would wait until the land was transferred into Indian trust – or reservation – status. Then, they would put the sign back up.
That hasn’t happened.
The tribe’s new billboards are being built at another place along I-5.
Besides bringing business to the tribe’s casino, the billboards also bring in some income.
Goodridge said a parcel of land on the west side of I-5 has been in trust “forever.” A parcel on the east side that holds the second sign has been in trust for more than a year, he said.
The tribe has two more billboards in the works, near a smoke shop it owns on Highway 530. They will also be rented out to advertisers and are immune to state codes.
They are visible to drivers heading north on I-5.
The thought of new billboards gives Stanwood resident Melody Lee a headache.
She trains Arabian horses at Kenrock Equestrian Center about a quarter mile off exit 210. She said the casino has brought more traffic and lots of police sirens to the area.
“(Tribes) have all these perks that they can do things without permits, and it just doesn’t seem right to me,” she said.
Goodridge said he’s fed up with hearing complaints.
There are several large billboards owned by private companies nearby, he said, but few people complain about them.
“When we do something, it’s the crime of the century,” he said. “When someone else does it, it’s fine. They turn a blind eye.”
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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