Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The billboard was removed after an appeals court ruled in Lower Merion's favor.
The billboard at the Five Points intersection in Bryn Mawr has been taken down after an appeals court ruled earlier this month it had to be removed. If the sign had not been removed or covered, fines would have been imposed on billboard company AdSmart Outdoor Advertising, Inc., Lower Merion Township Commissioner Scott Zelov said last week while the sign remained. The Lower Merion Zoning Board first ruled against the billboard in 2010. That decision was reinforced by the Court of Common Pleas, county court and on March 13 by the Commonwealth Court. Main Line Health was most recently leasing the ad space on the Five Points billboard. "While Bryn Mawr Hospital used the wall space as an opportunity to educate the community about the latest …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
If the billboard is not removed or covered, fines will be imposed, according to a township commissioner.
Despite an order from Lower Merion and a fresh rejection of its case in court, an advertising company has not removed its billboard at the Five Points intersection in Bryn Mawr as of Tuesday night. "There has now been a zoning board decision, and 3 court decisions ruling against this Bryn Mawr billboard," Lower Merion Township Commissioner Scott Zelov wrote in an email. The previous two court decisions were by judges in the Court of Common Pleas and in the county, ruling in Lower Merion's favor over billboard company AdSmart Outdoor Advertising, Inc. The most recent decision by the Commonwealth Court came March 13. The township issued the company an enforcement letter to remove or cover the billboard, but the sign remained as of March 20. …
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The county court's decision has been further appealed to Commonwealth Court.
The billboard at the Five Points intersection in Bryn Mawr must be removed or covered while the billboard company awaits a decision from the Commonwealth Court, a county judge ruled recently. The Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas last month denied a request from billboard company AdSmart Outdoor Advertising, Inc. to keep the billboard there. AdSmart appealed that decision to state court, and Lower Merion Township issued the company an enforcement letter to remove or cover the billboard in the meantime, said township commissioner Scott Zelov, who represents Bryn Mawr and Haverford. The billboard company appealed that letter to county court, but the request was denied Feb. 29. Currently leased by Bryn Mawr Hospital, the billboard …
Friday, February 17, 2012
BIG plans to appeal the ruling.
During its Thursday night meeting, the Haverford Township Zoning Hearing Board voted 5-0 against the billboard proposal. Bartkowski Investment Group’s (BIG) wanted to have five 672-square-foot billboards placed in Haverford Township—two of the billboards would be located along Lancaster Avenue in Haverford Township overlooking Bryn Mawr in Lower Merion Township, and three signs along West Chester Pike in Haverford Township. BIG’s challenged that Haverford Township’s no billboard ordinance was unconstitutional and a restriction on free speech. But after a nearly three-year battle with experts and residents giving testimony in front of the zoning hearing board, the board on Thursday night disagreed with BIG's validity challenge that the …
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Read the key issues of the billboard debate.
Thaddeus Bartkowski, owner of Bartkowski Investment Group’s (BIG), shares his views with Patch as the Haverford Township Zoning Hearing Board will decide the fate of the billboard controversy at Thursday night's meeting. The controversy started nearly three years ago when BIG wanted to have five 672-square-foot billboards placed in Haverford Township—two of the billboards would be located along Lancaster Avenue in Haverford Township overlooking Bryn Mawr in Lower Merion Township, and three signs along West Chester Pike in Haverford Township. However, Haverford Township has an ordinance that bans billboards within the township, but in an interview with Patch Wednesday afternoon, Bartkowski said that the ordinance is unconstitutional and …
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The existing billboard should not be there, ruled the county Court of Common Pleas, which affirms a decision made by Lower Merion Township in 2010.
The Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas has denied a request to keep a billboard at the Five Points intersection in Bryn Mawr. Lower Merion Township issued billboard company AdSmart Outdoor Advertising, Inc., a zoning violation in 2010, which the group appealed in November of that year. AdSmart shares the same owners as Bartkowski Investment Group, which is fighting to put up five billboards in Haverford Township, including two along Route 30/Lancaster Avenue that would overlook the Bryn Mawr section of Lower Merion. The decision from the Court of Common Pleas regarding the Five Points intersection came Feb. 2, the same day that closing arguments were made before the Haverford Township Zoning Hearing Board. “The decision can be …
Friday, February 3, 2012
The proposed billboards would be on Lancaster Avenue in Haverford Township overlooking Bryn Mawr in Lower Merion.
Bartkowski Investment Group’s (BIG) attorney Marc Kaplin started the closing argument proceedings at Thursday night's Haverford Township Zoning Hearing Board meeting by saying the township cannot prohibit billboards, adding that it is against the state’s constitution. BIG is fighting to have five 672-square-foot billboards placed in Haverford Township—two of the billboards would be located along Lancaster Avenue in Haverford Township overlooking Bryn Mawr in Lower Merion Township, and three signs along West Chester Pike in Haverford Township. In addition, he said that Haverford Township Solicitor Jim Byrne and Lower Merion Township Solicitor Bill Kerr’s arguments that the billboards will create a distraction and cause accidents are not …
Monday, November 21, 2011
The report states that the proposed billboard on 2040 West Chester Pike could be increased from 672 square feet to 1,200 square feet.
In a Monday morning email, Haverford Township's Zoning Hearing Board solicitor sent Patch a light and visual expert's report on Bartkowski Investment Group's (BIG) billboards proposal. Sent by Bill Malone, the report prepared by Dr. Ronald Gibbons, a director of the Center for Infrastructure Based Safety Systems at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and a lead lighting research scientist, was discussed in an Oct. 24 video testimony that was presented at the Thursday, Nov. 17 Haverford Township Zoning Board meeting. In his testimony and in his report, BIG expert Gibbons suggested that the proposed billboard (referred to as Sign 1 in the report) on 2040 West Chester Pike could be increased from 672 square feet to 1,200 square feet. "…
Friday, November 18, 2011
The BIG expert testified that he did not conduct proper measurements of proposed locations of the billboards.
In a video recording of an October testimony, Bartkowski Investment Group (BIG)’s light and visual expert Dr. Ronald Gibbons admitted he did not provide detailed information in the company’s billboard report. At Thursday night’s Haverford Township Zoning Board meeting, a nearly 2-and-a-half-hour Oct. 24 video recording was presented, in which BIG’s attorney Marc Kaplin, Haverford Township Solicitor Jim Byrne and Lower Merion Township Solicitor Bill Kerr asked Gibbons numerous questions regarding his professional background and his past reports with other companies regarding billboards. BIG is fighting to have five 672-square-foot billboards placed in Haverford Township—two of the billboards would be located along Lancaster Avenue in …
Angela
6:55 pm on Thursday, March 29, 2012
All politics is local. Congratulations for the Community. But since corporations have equal protection under the law compared with individuals, the struggle may not be over. more ›