East Deer refers proposed billboard rules to planners; fate of 4 digital displays pending

As the fate of four proposed billboards in East Deer looms, the township commissioners Thursday referred its drafted rules regarding those signs to township and county planners.

The proposal amends the township’s zoning ordinance regarding billboards and was advertised last month. Now, the next step in the process is to refer the draft to East Deer’s planning commission and Allegheny County, said Commissioners Chairman Tony Taliani.

After planners review the document, the commissioners will hold a public hearing before formal adoption.

In June, Butler-based Oliver Outdoor went before the zoning hearing board to request four signs in three locations in the township.

The zoning board has 45 days from the June 29 hearing to render a decision on that request.

Oliver Outdoor seeks to place the billboards in spots visible from Route 28.

Three of the billboards would be 57 feet high. Two of the billboards would be at 1101 Freeport Road — one 14 feet by 48 feet and the other 12 feet by 24 feet — and the third, 14 feet by 48 feet, would be on a wooded lot in the 900 block of Bellview Street, behind the East Deer Personal Care Home.

The fourth sign, at 1300 Freeport Road, would be 14 by 48 feet and stand 72 feet high.

Oliver representatives claimed during the June hearing that East Deer’s zoning rules were exclusionary to billboards and that the ordinance is unconstitutional. It’s a claim that Taliani disputes because there are billboards standing in the township.

The proposed ordinance working its way through township government would allow billboards only in industrial-zoned districts. They must be regulated as a conditional use and must be the principal use on the property. Only one billboard sign could be on the premises.

Signs would have a maximum height of 30 feet from the ground to the top of the sign. Billboards could not be within 500 feet of any property within a residential-zoned district or school, park, library or place of worship where the face of the sign could be seen. They also could not be closer than 1,000 feet to another billboard, the proposal states.

The maximum surface area of the sign would be 300 feet, including both sides if it is a two-sided sign.

The proposal further states that billboards could be either unlit or indirectly lighted. Lighting must be shielded and directed downward from the top of the sign toward the ground. LED digital billboards would be not be permitted.

The proposed ordinance does not impact Oliver’s case, but it does prevent other billboard applications from being submitted until the proposal is adopted.