Residents, Business Reps Come Forth to Protest Billboards

Citing issues with blight, driver distraction and changing the character of the neighborhood and borough, concerned residents and business owners asked to be part of the hearing on billboards in the borough.

Chester County Outdoor is presenting a substantive validity challenge, arguing that Phoenixville zoning does not allow for free-standing billboards. Plans attached to the zoning application show V-shaped electronic billboards that are 40-feet wide by 12-feet high, with the whole structure at 43 feet from the ground, where the single pole would be embedded 17½ feet into the earth. Six of these (one on each side of a single pole) in three locations along Nutt Road already have leases in place, according to testimony at Wednesday’s hearing.

While the challenge is not site-specific but rather a challenge to general borough zoning, the three sites mentioned by the applicant are at 95 Nutt Road, 486 Nutt Road and 1012 Nutt Road.

As with all zoning applications, nearby property owners were notified about the hearing, which kicked off in September. Several property owners, as well as a representative from the , were on hand to voice concerns. Nine people/entities requested party status, which means they would have the ability to play a role in the legal proceedings.

With any zoning hearing, however, there will also be a public comment period after the hearing where those without party status will have an opportunity to voice opinions one way or another.

Amee Farrell, the lawyer representing Chester County Outdoor, said she would be preparing a brief on her position on who should and should not be granted party status for the hearing.

Farrell said she would object to party status if those asking for it weren’t in proximity to the three sites and didn’t stand to loose financially if the zoning ordinance was amended to allow billboards. Her position is supported by case law, according to Farrell.

“Just because I ask for party status doesn’t mean I get to be a party,” Farrell said. “I have to be able to establish that I have a direct, immediate and substantial monetary interest in the outcome.”

As such, Farrell requested that each person state his or her name, proximity to the three locations and the reasons for the request. Each requestor was given provisional status pending a final decision on permanent party status. Here are some brief excerpts from those statements:

F. William Evans, Resident

As a resident of the 900 block of Gay Street, Evans said he lives two blocks from at 95 Nutt Road, one of the properties where Chester County Outdoor has a lease.

Because of the size and height of the billboards, Evans said he would be able to see the sign constantly from inside and outside of his home. As both he and his wife are in their 60s, Evans said they may want to sell the home in the future, and he expressed concern over property values.

“We think that our property value would decrease substantially,” Evans said.

Saying the billboards would create a “Las Vegas-style strip” along Nutt Road, Evans added that accidents along the road, and particularly at the five-point intersection at Nutt Road and Main Street, may increase.

Brian Ayres, Resident

Ayres stated that he’s within half a block from 95 Nutt Road, and he said he’s spent more than 20 years restoring his Victorian home.

“You don’t find billboards in good neighborhoods,” Ayres said.

The location at 95 Nutt Road is a gateway to the hospital and the downtown historic district, Ayres said, and the billboards would have the potential to cause a “severe decrease” in property values.

“Billboards are almost synonymous with blight and Phoenixville will look like a blighted place,” Ayres said.

John Colarusso, Rental Property Owner/Business Owner

With four properties near the parcel at 486 and another two properties about a half-mile away, Colarusso, of , said he enjoys the current nature of the neighborhood and feels the signs would affect him financially.

“It will significantly reduce the rental values,” Colarusso said.  “Billboards popping up into the sky is just going to significantly change the nature and with that goes the value.”

Janet Ayres, Resident

Janet Ayres told the board and applicant that she lives in the 700 block of Main Street and would be just a few parcels away from one of the leased locations at 95 Nutt Road.

“Billboards do cheapen the neighborhood,” Janet Ayres said.

She explained that properties in that area are well maintained and Janet Ayres expressed concern about decrease in value.

“Billboards are distracting and they do decrease the values of the properties that are close to them,” Janet Ayres said.

John Keenan III, Resident and Rental Owner

Keenan said he live close to 95 Nutt Road, in the 700 block of Main Street. He said he was concerned for his own safety and well being if the billboards are installed at that location.

“It’s going to have constant light,” Keenan said. “There’s never going to be darkness.”

Keenan said he was baffled that anyone would even consider putting billboards there, and said that SEPTA buses act as moving billboards throughout the town and provide enough opportunity for advertising.

Keenan also applied for party status in the hearing for his business, and he has a rental property two blocks from one of the potential sites.

“The value of it is going to go down,” Keenan said. “It’s going to reduce property values in the entire town.”

Linda Keenan, Resident

While saying she feared the decline in property values, Linda Keenan of the 700 block of Main Street also cited traffic concerns if billboards are installed along Nutt Road.

“We can sit on our porch and we can watch accidents and near-misses happening” near the intersection at Main Street and Nutt Road, she said.

She said the nature of the neighborhood would be changed if the billboards were erected.

“I think billboards would completely distract from [the revitalization] and erase all the charm we have as a community,” Linda Keenan said.

Tim Eckert, Resident

Eckert said he lives very close to the leased property at 486 Nutt Road and moved into the neighborhood approximately three years ago. He believes that home values and quality of life will go down if the billboards are installed, according to his statement Wednesday evening.

“It completely change the entire atmosphere,” Eckert said.

Crysta Peers, Phoenixville Regional Chamber of Commerce

Representing the Chamber, which Peers said has more than 300 members, she noted that the organization is opposed to electronic billboards within the borough.

“We feel that the electronic billboards will hinder future revitalization,” Peers said.

Farrell questioned Peers on a letter that was submitted by the Phoenixville Regional Chamber of Commerce. She asked if the 18 members of the board read the letter.

Peers said the board members didn’t read the letter but the board unanimously voted to have the letter drafted in opposition to the billboards. The letter expressed opposition to the proposal and was signed by Frederick Hubler, the president of the Chamber.

Bud Emig, Sherwin Williams

Representing the interests of Sherwin Williams, Emig asked for party status for the hearing and said a billboard on the property would obstruct the advertising of the store, which is on a parcel at 1012 Nutt Road.

He also presented a letter with portions of the Sherwin Williams lease, and Emig said the lease prohibits changes like that on the property.

Farrell objected to the letter being admitted as evidence, and said it’s a leaseholder issue and not something that had to do with the hearing on behalf of Chester County Outdoor.

“That’s an issue of private contractual rights,” Farrell said.

She said she’d include her objection to the letter in a brief that will be presented to the zoning hearing board before the Dec. 14 portion of the hearing.

Hearing Information

Though those with party status can participate in the legal proceeding and call witnesses, cross-examine witnesses and present evidence, the zoning hearing will also include a period of public comment following testimony. Those participating in the public comment period do not have to have party status.

The hearing will continue on .