Pittsburgh to appeal Mt. Washington billboard ruling to Pa. Supreme Court
Pittsburgh lost another round in its legal fight to have a large billboard on Mt. Washington removed.
Commonweath Court on Monday denied an appeal by the city of its previous ruling against the city.
Mayor Bill Peduto plans to appeal the matter to the state Supreme Court, said his spokesman Tim McNulty.
Commonwealth Court in August ruled in favor of Lamar Advertising in its quest to keep the sign, which has been used to tout Iron City Beer, Bayer and Alcoa. It currently promotes the National Flag Foundation with an American flag.
The city claims the billboard has violated city zoning regulations since 2016 when Lamar placed a vinyl sign for Sprint on top of existing neon lettering.
Lamar contends the city violated its due process, property and free speech rights by preventing the company from modernizing the billboard with LED lighting.
McNulty wouldn’t detail why the city is persisting in its fight against the sign.
Jonathan Kamin, the Downtown attorney that represents Lamar in the protracted battle, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tom Davidson is a TribLive news editor. He has been a journalist in Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. He can be reached at tdavidson@triblive.com.
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