Edison sued after rejecting digital billboard along Turnpike
American Outdoor Advertising has filed suit against the Edison Zoning Board of Adjustment for denying a proposal to build a 100-foot digital billboard on Old Post Road facing drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike.
The Zoning Board in February unanimously voted to deny American Outdoor Advertising’s application for failing to meet all the criteria needed to grant variances for the project. At that time the board chairman noted the Board's requests, for conditions of making the sign static and one-sided, reducing the height and turning off digital lights at night, were all rejected by the applicant.
American Outdoor Advertising says in the lawsuit the Board’s ruling was "arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and contrary to the evidence presented in support of it" and is looking to have the Board’s decision overturned.
Edison has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
"It is clear that the board’s denial of (American Outdoor Advertising’s) application was not supported by the evidence, was in contravention with the established outdoor advertising policies set forth in New Jersey’s Roadside Sign Control and Outdoor Advertising Act, the controlling case law in the County of Middlesex, and the board’s denial was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable and must be reversed," the lawsuit says.
American Outdoor Advertising presented plans over four Zoning Board meetings from September 2022 to February 2023 to build a V-shaped digital billboard on property located at 740 Old Post Road in a light industrial zone. Billboards are a conditional use in the zone and must be one-sided, 15 feet high, 250 square feet and not within 2,500 feet of another sign. The sign was designed to face the highway and away from the nearby residential neighborhood.
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The billboard company, however, sought bulk and use variances to build a 100-foot-tall sign that measured 672 square feet, as well as variances for front yard and side yard setbacks. Plans called for the billboard to face northbound and southbound Turnpike traffic, with real-time messages changing every eight seconds. A planner for the applicant testified the size of the billboard wasconsistent with standard-sized highway signs.
The lawsuit charges the application was prejudged before being presented or any witnesses testifying.
The applicant's planner testified that the light coming from the sign would not substantially negatively impact nearby residential properties with bright lights, and there would be no flickering or flashing effects associated, the lawsuit says.
Peter G. Steck, a licensed professional planner who testified on behalf of a neighborhood resident, said nearby homeowners would be able to see the digital billboard change images every eight seconds.
The lawsuit was filed last week by Warren-based attorney Jeffrey Lehrer who represented American Outdoor Advertising during the plan hearings.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
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This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edison sued after rejecting NJ Turnpike digital billboard
