262 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



determine the land use. That is a matter resting within the sovereign 

 power of the States and their political subdivisions. 



Despite this lack of jurisdiction to prescribe land use, the Federal 

 Government can do much toward insuring that areas adjacent to 

 Federal-aid highways are beautiful and attractive. 



I suggest that the Federal Government can and should take, with 

 Congressional approval, the following action : 



1. The States should be required to expend a portion of their 

 Federal-aid highway funds for the preservation, restoration, and 

 enhancement of beauty in roadside areas. 



Under existing law, the States can, in their discretion, use a portion 

 of their Federal-aid highway funds to purchase adjacent strips of 

 land of limited width in order to preserve scenic beauty. They can 

 also use funds for landscaping within the rights-of-way. But the 

 authority is limited in scope and is discretionary with the States. It 

 needs to be broadened and made mandatory. 



The Secretary of Commerce should be given authority to waive 

 the mandatory requirement if he finds the expenditure would not 

 be in the public interest. In some States the funds might be better 

 spent for construction or other purposes. 



2. The Congress should enact legislation conditioning the grant 

 of Federal-aid highway funds with the requirement that the erection 

 and maintenance of all outdoor advertising signs be controlled in 

 accordance with Federal requirements. Enactment of such legisla- 

 tion is essential if President Johnson's goal is to be realized. 



Legislation enacted by the Congress should prohibit all off -premise 

 advertising in areas within 1,000 feet of the outer edge of pavement 

 of the Federal-aid primary and the Interstate System of Highways, 

 except for those areas which are zoned commercial or industrial or 

 where the land use is in fact commercial or industrial. 



(Mr. HORNBECK. Departing from Mr. Bridwell's speech: I want 

 to say that the billboard industry gets blamed for a great deal of the 

 blight which is due to the so-called small signs. I want to assure Mr. 

 Tocker, whom I have known for two years and whom I hold in high 

 regard, that our concern with the roadside environment includes all 

 signs, displays, and devices and is not confined solely to billboards.) 



Off-premise brand named advertising is not essential to the needs 

 of the traveling public. Information such as lodging, restaurants, 

 automobile services, and other information in the interest of the 



