The City of Round Rock will not see an increase in its number of billboards after a local PAC could not collect enough legitimate signatures. The proposed amendment sought by the "Keep Round Rock Safe" Political Action Committee hit a roadblock, falling short of the legally required amount of signatures to put their billboard charter amendment before voters. Intending to install 12 new electronic billboards along IH-35 and SH-45, only 2,798 of the 4,190 signatures submitted were valid, short of the needed 3,189 to comply with Texas law.
Keep Round Rock Safe PAC filed their petition on December 26, after actively campaigning for support, even sending solicitations with surveys and plastering the town with flyers. A validation process conducted by the city over three weeks found most of the invalid signatures were from individuals outside of the local jurisdiction, making them ineligible to vote on the matter. According to the City of Round Rock's announcement, 1,268 of the invalid signatures belonged to people not residing within Round Rock's city limits.
The city's ordinance, which has for a long time blocked new billboards, was being challenged due to the belief that more billboards would be beneficial for the community. MediaChoice, an advertising company, had expressed interest in constructing these new electronic billboards and initiated this conversation with the city officials back in 2022 and early 2023. Despite their efforts, the City Council made it clear they wouldn't reverse the ban on off-premises signs and billboards.
The PAC's tactics didn't sit well with city officials. Unauthorized use of the city's logo and misleading statements were some of the methods employed to garner these signatures, as described by the city's mayor. "I have shared my disappointment with the techniques used by this PAC to obtain signatures, including unauthorized use of the City’s logo and several misleading statements in their marketing materials,” said Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan.
With the petition's failure, the status quo of signage in Round Rock remains unchanged for the moment. The push by the Keep Round Rock Safe PAC did not resonate enough with local voters to make the necessary impact. As of now, the citizens and the governing bodies of Round Rock appear to have spoken on the matter of their city's aesthetic and public space through the voice of the democratic process and regulatory compliance.
