MediaBuyerPlanner: More than 900 illegal signs will be taken down from storefronts and private buildings across Philadelphia.

The removal of the 900 eight-sheets, owned by PNE Media, is part of a settlement agreement in a federal court case brought against Philadelphia by billboard companies including Clear Channel Outdoor, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Under the eight-year agreement, Clear Channel - which doesn't own any of the illegal signs - will pay $350,000 to remove them. Explaining his company's involvement, Clear Channel Outdoor president George Kauker said he hoped to improve the industry's image. "The eight-sheets have led to a lot of negative perception of the billboard industry."

In exchange, the city has promised to slash a new licensing fee for billboards, from $650 per sign face now to $50 by 2009.

Carl Primavera, a lawyer for PNE, said the company could not afford to remove the illegal signs by itself. "In a course of larger discussions with Clear Channel, the opportunity presented itself that Clear Channel would fund their removal," he said.

The city last year also enacted a first-ever seven percent excise tax on billboards that is expected to generate $3.5 million. That tax is the subject of a separate legal battle.