Billboards on Bethlehem Pike

NOTE: Currently there is an application in front of the Zoning Hearing Board to place two highway-sized billboards on Bethlehem Pike.

I AM 100% OPPOSED TO THEM.

The Zoning Board hearing has been continued (delayed). Please visit my homepage or the Township website for updates on the Zoning Board Hearing date.

A company called MC Outdoor, LLC, has petitioned to place two large-sized (48' x 14') digital billboards on Bethlehem Pike. One at the southeast corner of Haws Lane and Bethlehem Pike (Springfield Cleaners), and the other is at the turn in the road across from Cisco Park, on the northwest corner of Gordon Road and Bethlehem Pike (Erdenheim Auto Repair). See aerial pictures of these two locations below on this page.

Public Meeting

Our zoning officer has denied the request and a Zoning Hearing Board meeting has been continued. A public meeting on Sept. 8, 2011 provided a chance for the public to hear from the applicant Thaddeus Bartkowski (MC Outdoor) and to better understand township options and the applicant's proposals and alternate locations. The meeting was very well attended and there was consensus that billboards do not belong in Springfield Township; that all proposed locations would have a negative impact on the residents' quality of life. Further, it was emphasized by public comment how billboards on Bethlehem Pike are completely inconsistent with our Comprehensive Plan, our Village Overlay concepts, with the FEEA plan, and with the history of the Pike and would make driving, walking, and bicycling on Bethlehem Pike more dangerous.

Courts have ruled that off-premises signs (among which are billboards) are a constitutionally protected form of commercial speech and townships must permit them. However, locations and other reasonable protections are permitted.

The Springfield Township Code is remedied and no future petitions for signs on Bethlehem Pike will be permitted.

Here is an open letter from Jeff Harbison, president of the Board of Commissioners of Springfield. I personally agree with his analysis and his plan of action. Note: He is speaking here as an individual, and not for the Board of Commissioners.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that every Township must allow billboards somewhere in the Township. Springfield along with Cheltenham, Abington and many other local municipalities have arguably run afoul of this rule. If billboards are totally banned in the Township, the case ruled that the zoning is invalid and an applicant could put a billboard of any size anyplace they want. A few months ago, a local operator of such billboards, MC Outdoor, simultaneously filed applications for many billboards throughout the area. There were two in Springfield, one on Bethlehem Pike at Gordon Road and one on Bethlehem Pike at Haws Lane. The links show the exact locations sought.

The first step for the Township was to close the door to the allegedly flawed ordinance by passing what is called a curative amendment which gives us six months to pass an ordinance that allows billboards somewhere in the Township (and can limit the size thereof, too.). This was done quickly. We are now close to passing the appropriate language at our April Meeting which is within the six-month window. I think the language of this ordinance is pretty noncontroversial. It would allow small billboards in the Industrial District on Ivy Hill Road.

The MC Outdoor application is the thorny one. Our options are as follows:

• Not fight it and let them build the two billboards on Bethlehem Pike. There seems to be no support for this from the community.
• Fight them in court as far as possible. If we follow this approach and lose, they will be able to build the two billboards on Bethlehem Pike.
• Cut a deal with MC Outdoor to allow them to build a billboard or two elsewhere in the Township in return for them not doing anything on Bethlehem Pike.

This analysis is clouded by two variables which are not easy to predict:

• What are the odds of prevailing if we fight the application through the court system?
• Is it possible that the two Bethlehem Pike sites are not economically viable and that the applications are just a bargaining chip to get us to help them get to a more viable site?

Right now, the Commissioners seem to be of one mind on the issue which helps greatly in dealing with this difficult situation.

If you accept the reality that Supreme Court case means that we must host a billboard or two in Springfield, then the task becomes finding the best location for the billboard or billboards. Major considerations are protection of the Bethlehem Pike corridor and protecting the views from people's residences.

The Board continues to talk with MC Outdoor about possible solutions My expectation is that the Board will narrow down the options to one or two alternatives to Bethlehem Pike. At that point, I believe it would be prudent to have a special meeting with the Community to lay out the alternatives and solicit feedback.

The Board of Commissioners recognizes that the Community would be happy to have no billboards in Springfield but we are obligated to respect the court decisions and laws of Pennsylvania. We may not have the power to get the outcome we want but we are committed to the best possible outcome allowable under the law.

Please note that I am speaking for myself and not in my capacity as President of the Board.

Jeff

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The first five pictures below are of a billboard in Whitemarsh Township, visible from the Turnpike (owned by ClearChannel and not MC Outdoor). Its dimensions, identical to the ones proposed on Bethlehem Pike, are 48 feet across by 14 feet deep (672 sq. feet).