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<br /> 2 <br />addition, light from digital billboards can affect and disorient migratory birds – a major concern given that <br />Redwood City’s Bay shoreline is on the Pacific Flyway, and thousands of migratory birds pass through <br />every season. <br /> <br />Digital billboards can also affect Redwood City residents. Light shed from digital billboards near <br />residences can shine into residents’ windows at night. Artificial light at night has been shown to affect <br />human health in many ways, from sleep disorders to breast cancer.2 <br /> <br />Minimal benefit to city revenues <br /> <br />According to the staff report, San Carlos receives net annual revenues of approximately $500,000- <br />$600,000 from five digital billboards and South San Francisco receives net annual revenue of <br />approximately $280,000 and $320,000 from four digital billboards. This minimal amount of revenue does <br />not justify the negative environmental impacts of adding digital billboards in these locations. <br /> <br />The staff report states that in 2007, Redwood City decided to prohibit billboards “after carefully balancing <br />many competing factors and interests.” It also notes that “other cities commonly used as comparators to <br />Redwood City - Mountain View, Palo Alto and San Mateo – do not allow digital billboards.” Thus, the <br />action being considered here is to roll back a prohibition on billboards enacted less than 20 years ago, <br />one which other similar cities in the region continue to uphold. Redwood City does not need to backtrack <br />on our commitment to aesthetics and environmental protection. <br /> <br />Please do not proceed with consideration of digital billboards, and keep our current billboard prohibition <br />intact. Thank you for your attention to these comments. <br /> <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Alice Kaufman <br />Policy and Advocacy Director, Green Foothills <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />2 Cho Y, Ryu SH, Lee BR, Kim KH, Lee E, Choi J. Effects of artificial light at night on human health: A literature <br />review of observational and experimental studies applied to exposure assessment . Chronobiol Int. <br />2015;32(9):1294-310. doi: 10.3109/07420528.2015.1073158. Epub 2015 Sep 16. PMID: 26375320. <br />https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26375320/