These regulations prohibit the placing of banners between trees, poles, buildings, and other structures and on water, so as not to pollute the urban environment with various types and exaggerated advertisements.
It will also be prohibited to clutter the facade of a building and the surroundings of a building with various types of colorful advertisements, and it will be prohibited to overlay advertisements with textual and graphical information.
Assembly anchorages must not be visible when placing an ad. It will be prohibited to place advertising on the facade or engineering structure of the building if it is in an unfinished or collapsing state.
It is also prohibited to place advertisements on bridges over Daugava and in the sections of the city canal projecting against water.
Placing ads on water, including using different watercraft, will be prohibited. This ban will not apply to tourism and en-route vessels and to advertising of a public event if it is carried out on water.
According to the municipality, these prohibitions are necessary to create a harmonious and non-exaggerated display of ads on buildings, so that advertising does not suppress the building architecture and the urban environment in general.
As digital ad placement is becoming more popular, binding rules create a new chapter with the conditions for using digital screens.
For example, the deployment of digital screens will be prohibited in places where gambling is organized or where entertainment and events are conducted in an intimate atmosphere. In such places, it will also be prohibited to use special light effects in advertising.
It will be prohibited to place digital screens in the historic center of Riga on buildings, except for public transport stops.
Although the municipality said out that consultations with the advertising associations and the National Heritage Administration have been held during the adoption of binding regulations, the Latvian Advertising Association asked the Riga City Council to suspend the adoption of draft rules due to insufficient discussion.