Kyiv authorities have agreed to increase tariffs on the placement of outdoor advertising facilities in the capital starting in March by 20 percent and the tariffs on the placement of light boxes by 25 percent, the press service of Kyiv City Administration reported on Jan. 12.
According to the announcement, the increase was agreed upon results of a meeting between Deputy Kyiv City Administration Head Oleksandr Puzanov with representatives of Kyiv’s outdoor advertising operators.
“From September 1, after a discussion with market players, the tariffs could be revised again,” reads the press release.
The Association of the Outdoor Advertising of Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine that an increase in the tariffs on outdoor advertisement in Kyiv could be announced only after the final approval of the tariffs via a decision of Kyiv City Council.
The report also says that Kyiv City Administration is planning to change the rules for placing outdoor advertisement facilities in the capital.
“We’re aiming to create a non-aggressive and comfortable environment for Kyiv residents, where advertisements do not disturb residents, but beautify the city,” the press service said, citing Puzanov.
According to a concept on the development of outdoor advertising in Kyiv, which will be submitted for the discussion by Kyiv City Council on January 26, 2012, four zones for placing outdoor advertisement facilities will be introduced in the capital. The placement of any advertisement in a zero zone will be prohibited, such as in buffer territories of architectural-historic reserves, properties of UNESCO cultural and natural heritage, historical and architectural monuments, landscape parks and administrative center of the city, reads the document.
The Association of the Outdoor Advertising of Ukraine says that with the approval of the concept, the number of outdoors advertisement facilities in downtown Kyiv will be reduced by some 30 percent, and its cost will grow by 10-15 percent after the two-stage increase of the tariffs by 20 percent from March and August 2012.
Kyiv City Administration on January 10 introduced a moratorium on the placement of some types of outdoor advertisement, in particular, boards and light boxes. From January 1 to August 1, 2012, the submission of applications on the issue of the relevant permits has been temporarily suspended. The moratorium does not apply to the following types of advertisement facilities: pedestals, freestanding special frames, advertising signs and signs on buildings.
In addition, Kyiv City Administration does not recommend that outdoor advertisers install outdoor advertisement facilities, to which a moratorium applies, even if the advertisers obtained permits earlier. Kyiv’s authorities promised not to accrue fees for the use of outdoor advertisement facilities during the period when the moratorium is in effect.
