Decision on digital billboard next to Bridgewater park delayed. Here's why
BRIDGEWATER – The Township Council has postponed a decision whether to allow a Pennsylvania company to locate a "monument sign" on municipal property next to Route 202-206.
The postponement of the vote, scheduled for Thursday's Township Council meeting, came after Catalyst Experiential requested that a review of the project by the Planning Board, originally set for Tuesday, be postponed until June.
Officials said Catalyst was "not prepared" to present the proposal.
The public hearing and vote on the ordinance allowing Catalyst to put up the electronic sign cannot be held by the Township Council until the review by the Planning Board, according to state law, Title 40 Section 40:55D-31.
The Planning Board cannot reject the plan but reviews the proposal of any project on government property to determine if it's consistent with the municipality's master plan.
The review of the Catalyst proposal is tentatively scheduled for a special Planning Board meeting on June 13. The public will be allowed to comment on the proposal at that meeting.
The Council had originally been scheduled April 20 to hold a public hearing and final vote on a 30-year lease with Catalyst Experiential for what the company is calling a "monument sign" along Route 202-206 south of the Interstate 287 interchange, one of the most congested stretches of highway in Somerset County. The sign would be 100 yards from KidStreet, a park by the municipal complex.
But the vote was put off until the Planning Board could review the proposal.
More: Route 202-206 traffic at issue in Bridgewater factory proposal
The lease calls for Catalyst to pay Bridgewater a lump sum of $1 million, then $1,000 a month for 30 years for the lease.
Mayor Matthew Moench said the $1 million will be dedicated to parks and recreation projects.
An online petition opposing the lease had generated more than 1,200 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
The sign is proposed to be 45 feet high.
As part of the lease, the township will be allowed to post messages on the electronic display that will operate from 7 a.m. to midnight as part of its rotation of advertising images. Emergency alerts will also be posted.
The lease will also restrict inappropriate, obscene or suggestive content, advertisement or language from the sign.
Catalyst Experiential had applied for Zoning Board of Adjustment approval for three other monument displays in Bridgewater – one on the west side of Route 22 a quarter mile east of Route 28 and Garretson Road, another on westbound Route 22 by Adamsville Road and a third on northbound Route 202-206 just north of the Time to Eat Diner.
The proposal by Catalyst has stirred controversy and opposition in Bridgewater that has not been seen since the Center of Excellence proposal in 2018.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater NJ digital billboard decision delayed
