Penn Hills residents oppose proposed electronic billboard in Churchill

Penn Hills residents turned out in force to an Aug. 28 Churchill zoning hearing board to weigh in on a proposed double-sided electronic billboard along Rodi Road that some say will detract from recent beautification efforts — but a decision will have to wait.

After three hours that included tense debates over attendees’ legal standing and the examination of two witnesses, the board opted to continue the hearing on Sept. 25.

The hearing, scheduled to start at 7 p.m., also faced a 15-minute delay because of audio issues for those joining via Zoom.

The proposed billboard would be on an unusually shaped, steeply graded parcel in Churchill near the intersection of Rodi Road and Maple Lane, advertising mainly to drivers coming off of I-376 into Penn Hills.

It would also be down the road from a newly installed Western Pennsylvania Conservancy garden, and along a corridor that the Penn Hills Shade Tree Commission has worked to make greener.

The commission planted 13 trees on parts of Rodi Road near Frankstown Road, and plans to add 21 more in the lower section. Aggrieved Penn Hills residents wore green to the hearing, reflecting their opposition to the billboard and desire for a well-landscaped entryway to the municipality.

“We have put so much time, effort and funding into improving Rodi Road so that we can attract more homeowners and businesses,” Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese said. “A huge electronic billboard would be contrary to our efforts, especially since the plan would require ripping out trees, while we are currently planting trees in the same area.”

Electronic billboards have been a hot topic as of late. Oliver Outdoor recently prevailed in a multiyear court case over a similar billboard in Tarentum, and has prompted East Deer commissioners to reconsider the township’s zoning code for billboards after requesting four electronic displays.

The Churchill applicant, Rodi Maple Devco, LLC, is seeking a variance to place the billboard two feet from the right of way, down from the 100 feet required under the borough’s zoning code. Tim Earl, owner of Rodi Maple Devco, does not live in Penn Hills or Churchill, but said he’s visited the site at least six times and testified that the project would comply with zoning codes, pending this setback variance. The billboard would be constructed in two days, according to Earl.

The company initially sought to exceed the maximum sign face area by 128 feet, but later withdrew that variance request, meaning the sign would span 250 square feet, at most.

During his testimony, Andrew Schwartz of Environmental Planning and Design said the lot’s peculiarities necessitated a variance to install the billboard and made it unfit for most other development.

“This was all kind of leftover from building the parkway,” Schwartz said.

To Penn Hills Shade Tree Commission president Kathy Raborn, these challenges are a consequence of Earl buying the property to begin with.

“They knew the restriction of this property before they purchased,” Raborn said.