Instead, after weeks of trying to muddle their way through the issue, they finally voted 4-3 Tuesday to allow sign companies to relocate them - with a few caveats.

Billboards on State and 800 North streets can be moved to within 300 feet of their existing locations, provided the new sites are owned by the same owner.

Second option: Billboards can be moved to Orem land adjacent to Interstate 15 - but it has to be a one-for-one swap. In other words, the square footage of the new sign near the interstate must not exceed that of the old one it replaces.

“If there was a way to get all of them and burn them to the ground, I'd be for it,” said Orem developer Paul Washburn, adding that Orem's amended ordinance will have to do for now.

For her part, Councilwoman Karen McCandless said the ordinance was a reasonable compromise to protect the sign companies' desire to put their signs in the best locations and the landowners who lease land to the companies for the billboards.

“We want to preserve as much rights for the private property owner as possible,” said McCandless, who noted the signs on State Street and 800 North would have to stay on land owned by the existing owners.

Orem's amended ordinance, however, does not preserve the intent of the Planning Commission, which recommended making billboards stay in place and getting rid of them through the process of attrition.

“This just moves the problem from downtown to the freeway,” Orem resident Brenda Smith said following the council's vote.

There are 10 State Street signs that could move due to the new ordinance. Orem mayors and councils have tried unsuccessfully for 25 years to get rid of the signs on State Street, which author Norman Mailer called “the ugliest street in America” in his book The Executioner's Song.

meddington@sltrib.com