Despite overwhelming opposition from residents, San Jose will consider a proposal Tuesday to add digital billboards at four downtown city-owned sites — a move that advocacy groups say, if approved, would cater to special interests over the public good and negatively impact the city for years.

The city’s proposal would allow Orange Barrel Media to lease billboards at the Center for the Performing Arts, McEnery Convention Center and at the Market/San Pedro Street and Second and San Carlos Street parking garages for potentially up to 20 years, providing the city with a guaranteed minimum of just over $21 million total for that period.

However, the group No Digital Billboards in San Jose has rejected the city’s rationale for moving forward with the deal, arguing the negative impacts to residents outweigh any prospective benefits and run afoul of the city’s goals.

“This is a classic public interest versus special interest topic,” said downtown resident Les Levitt. “If you ask any of the council members, ‘Is any resident coming to you and saying, we need more billboards?’ Of course not. It’s all driven by for-profit, out-of-town companies.”

Billboards have been a polarizing subject in San Jose for years, with the city going as far as outlawing them on public property decades ago.

Four states — Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont — have also taken a hard stance against billboards to preserve natural beauty while removing unnecessary distractions.

Despite the longstanding distaste by residents, lobbying efforts by billboard companies have successfully swayed elected officials in recent years to reconsider their views, first by ending a citywide ban, then greenlighting , including two years ago.

multiple proposalsapproving two digital billboards