Five Points Billboard Appeal Filed

The billboard company that owns the Five Points intersection billboard has appealed its case to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, claiming its nonconforming use is legal and constitutional.

AdSmart Outdoor Advertising, Inc., filed a brief June 11 in its case against the Lower Merion Township Zoning Hearing Board. 

“…A property owner has a constitutional right to continue a nonconforming use or structure notwithstanding that such use or structure violates the current zoning ordinance or regulation and a municipality cannot require the removal of a non-conforming use,” AdSmart’s brief states.

The Five Points billboard came down in late March after the Commonwealth Court ruled in Lower Merion Township’s favor earlier that month.

“By design, the sign has stuck out like a sore thumb for the world to see and was seen by all, including the Township Zoning Officer, for decades,” the brief states. “Nonetheless, the Township was consciously indifferent to the sign until 2009 when it served the property owner with a Notice of Violation.”

(See the full brief attached to this article as a PDF.)

The township brief should be prepared within the next few weeks, according to Lower Merion Ward 10 Commissioner Scott Zelov.