Tarentum schedules hearing on bridge billboard case
A hearing on a proposal to put up a billboard beside the Tarentum Bridge has been rescheduled.
The borough’s Zoning Hearing Board is set to conduct the public hearing at 7 p.m. June 29 at the borough building, 318 E. Second Ave.
In a December ruling, Allegheny County Judge Joseph James sent the matter back to the board after the company, America First Enterprises, appealed after the borough denied it a permit to erect the digital billboard, which would be atop a pole at 107 E. Fourth Ave.
The judge tasked the board with determining if the borough’s zoning ordinance effectively bans billboards.
America First, doing business as Oliver Outdoor, has argued it should be allowed to place the billboard beside the bridge on the basis that the borough’s zoning unconstitutionally excludes billboards from anywhere in the borough.
Tarentum has disputed that, arguing there are locations where billboards can be put up.
The issue goes back to January 2019 when the borough’s code enforcement officer refused to issue a permit for the billboard because the land is in a zoning district where they are not allowed. The Zoning Hearing Board upheld that decision after a hearing in May 2019, after which the company went to court.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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