Unity supervisors in July will consider a zoning amendment meant to make it easier to convert conventional single-image billboards to electronic billboards in the township.
The zoning change would be a win-win for the township and for local businesses that are looking to get the word out about their products or services, Supervisor Mike O’Barto said following a hearing this week on the amendment.
“You see many existing billboards that are actually blighted, falling apart and falling down,” O’Barto said. “Hopefully, this will kind of fix that situation.
“But, not everybody can afford a digital billboard either, so I don’t think you’re going to see a ton of them.”
Township Solicitor Gary Falatovich explained the amendment allows an owner to convert each side of a billboard to an electronic version, with changing images. But, he said, it does not allow for expansion of the billboard’s size.
Under the proposed ordinance revisions, more than one existing billboard on a given property may undergo electronic conversion as long as they remain at least 500 feet apart. That cuts in half the minimum distance between electronic billboards the township currently requires.
Any new electronic billboard would require approval from the township as a conditional use, as would any new standard billboard, Falatovich said.
According to the solicitor, the township opted to refrain from setting standard brightness levels for electronic billboards either during daylight hours or after dark, because of differences in conditions along different stretches of road. “There may be areas where the (brightness) would be so low you wouldn’t be able to read the billboard because of the ambient light in the area,” he said.
Instead, the amended ordinance incorporates PennDOT language for regulating the brightness of the billboards. It requires that billboards have devices to automatically dim them during the course of a day.
Also, they may not direct light into a road’s travel lanes or cause a glare that would impair the vision of passing drivers.
The modified ordinance also would allow billboard messages to change more frequently — once every 15 seconds, down from 30 seconds.
David Paulone of Hempfield, who owns two fixed-copy billboards in Unity, spoke at the hearing and later indicated he’s pleased with some of the provisions regarding electronic conversions.
“Our concern was that people need to advertise more, and one (standard) vinyl billboard just doesn’t get the message out,” Paulone said. “By (Unity) allowing us to do digital billboards, more messages can get out.”
Other ordinance amendments under consideration would designate multi-family dwellings as a permitted use in R-2 and R-3 residential zoning districts while listing aviation sales, services and storage as permitted uses in the institutional airpark district.
The supervisors are expected to vote on the ordinance modifications at their July 8 meeting.
