A deeply divided Pittsburgh City Council opted not to vote today on one member's call for yanking a Downtown billboard permit granted without public process, with some saying the matter will likely end up in the courts.

Four members called on Lamar Advertising, which plans to pay for and operate the digital billboard, to withdraw from its permit and contract. The firm would not comment on that call today but pledged to lay out its position in coming days.

Councilman Bruce Kraus introduced a resolution asking the mayor to have Lamar's permit rescinded and put any new application through hearings and votes by the City Planning Commission and council.

"My only goal in bringing this forward at this time is to ensure that the peoples' voices are heard," he said. "Unfortunately, they have been shut out of the process.

"If this is litigated, it is the taxpayers who will write the check."

Councilwoman Tonya Payne, whose district includes the Grant Street Transportation Center on which the 1,200-square-foot billboard would sit, said that the group Neighbors in the Strip wants the sign, so she will back it.

"The biggest thing here is removal of blight," she said, noting that Lamar has pledged to remove six vinyl billboards in return for one new digital one.

Councilman Jim Motznik agreed with her that there should be no effort to revoke the permit, saying that would spur a lawsuit. The coming of digital billboards "shows that the city is viable and open for business," he said.

Mr. Kraus, Councilmen William Peduto and Ricky Burgess, and Council President Doug Shields publicly urged Lamar to back out and go through a public process. Mr. Shields, though, noted that it's unclear what that process would be, as some members of council differ with the administration on whether signage provisions of city code apply.

Councilman Patrick Dowd, who reported "heated" behind-the-scenes debate on the issue, appeared to be the swing vote. He would not express an opinion on the sign, the process, or city code handling of signage issues, saying it is "reprehensible" that the Law Department hasn't yet provided council with any guidance on its proper role.

Mr. Shields said that either some portion of council, or a private individual, would legally challenge the permit. "Football games have guys in striped shirts," he said. "In our business, we have people who sit in robes."

The Pittsburgh Parking Authority and Urban Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Pat Ford engineered the approval of the billboard without public hearings or votes, and gave the opportunity to Lamar without any request for competitive proposals. Council members have said that city zoning code and state rules governing authorities require all of those processes. Mr. Ford said the rules don't apply, so he arranged a deal in which Lamar removes six nearby vinyl billboards for one new LED. The city has made such deals in the past.

Today a second competitor to Lamar said it would have likely paid more to the Parking Authority than the $3,000 a month Lamar has agreed to pay.

"As a billboard company operator in the area, I can assure you that we would love to get in on the bidding for this location," said Jim McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer of Olympus Media, a Georgia-based outdoor advertising firm with operations in Pennsylvania. "I don't know Lamar's cost structure, so it's hard for me to estimate what is economically prudent for them to pay. However, my company would pay 20 percent more for the lease.

"As I see it, the city has nothing to lose except a month of time, but gains the benefit of an auction of the site which will ensure that Pittsburgh gets the maximum revenues possible for the lease," he said.

Last week Craig Heard, president of Huntingdon, Pa.-based Gateway Outdoor Advertising, said his firm would have liked an opportunity to bid on the site.

LED billboards that size can bring in $30,000 a month in revenue and Mr. Heard said the owner of the property on which the sign sits often gets a 25 percent cut.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.