Pulaski County, Arkansas – The landscape of outdoor advertising in Pulaski County is entering a period of uncertainty as new state laws and local moratoriums leave the fate of billboards in limbo. While developers and billboard owners are eager to place signage in areas previously restricted, questions about authority and regulations continue to cloud the process.
Billboards are now being targeted for placement in areas known as extra-territorial jurisdictions, or ETJs, which lie just outside city limits but were historically under city control. A recent state law eliminated many of these local controls, effectively removing restrictions on signs in the ETJs and opening the door for billboards to appear where they were previously prohibited. However, the county itself currently lacks comprehensive regulations to govern their placement.
According to Van McClendon, Director for Pulaski County Planning and Development, the county’s current moratorium is the only barrier preventing additional billboards from being constructed. “The county, of course, had no regulations until we adopted the moratorium. So, they could have built a billboard anywhere you wanted to, and they did. I think ones in court that we determined were not conforming and were erected after the fact. So, the rest of them were in place, and there can’t be any more, based on what we have in terms of our zoning regulations,” McClendon explained.
The moratorium effectively freezes new billboard applications while the county evaluates its next steps. McClendon emphasized that future decisions will hinge on the moratorium’s outcome. “It’s going to be dependent on what happens at the end of the moratorium, because the county doesn’t have any particular regulations at current time, except for what we are using for Little Rock and North Little Rock through the moratorium. So that is yet to be decided,” he said.
Looking forward, the county plans to finalize its land use plan, which will guide future regulations. Once complete, officials expect to have a framework in place to transition from the current period of uncertainty to a more structured system. “They have to defer to the county attorney if he has something in his mind, but I’m sure before our moratorium expires, we’re going to have to do something. We’re going to have to have something in place to help us transition from where we were to where we are and where we’re going to be, and this is the first step toward that is having finished our plan,” McClendon said.
The moratorium is set to run until March 2026, giving county leaders time to draft regulations that balance the interests of property owners, businesses, and the community. McClendon acknowledged that while discussions are underway, it remains too early to describe what those rules might include. “We’re already looking at several things, but it’s way premature at this point to be able to describe what that might be, because we’re going to have to do something,” he said.
For residents and business owners, the shifting rules mean that the billboard landscape in Pulaski County will likely continue to evolve over the next year. Until the moratorium concludes and regulations are formally adopted, the exact authority for new signage remains a gray area, leaving both developers and local authorities in a waiting game.
Pulaski County’s approach reflects a broader challenge faced by municipalities nationwide: balancing the interests of commerce, community aesthetics, and public safety in the wake of changing state laws. As officials finalize their land use plan and prepare for regulatory updates, the future of billboards in the county’s ETJs remains uncertain—but closely watched.
