Tag Archives: haverford township

billboard issue not dead in bryn mawr

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Billboards are not dead in Bryn Mawr. This affects Lower Merion and Haverford Townships.

This has been going on since 2009.

15 damn years.

I doubt very much the Billboard Baron would want billboards on the lawn of his Gladwyne McMansion, but maybe that’s the place where they ought to go, huh?

Man behind controversy defends the legality of billboards
From 2009

https://casetext.com/case/adsmart-outdoor-adver-inc-v-adsmart-outdoor-adver-inc

So I received an email from the current 5th ward commissioner in Haverford Township Laura Cavendish. Her predecessors, the late Andy Lewis and Jeff Heilmann also both fought billboards alongside their residents and constituents.

From Commissioner Laura Cavendish we have sadly learned that the billboard issue is active again, and it has never actually died as an issue in Haverford and Lower Merion Townships . I’m really glad that she sent the update, because her Lower Merion counterpart has been seemingly silent on the issue, hasn’t he? But hey if there are babies to be kissed or photo ops cutting ribbons to be had, he’s your guy.

Here is what the email I received said:

April 24, 2024

Dear Ward 5 Residents,

It was great to see so many of you at the polls yesterday. I shared with some of you a letter which I am now sharing here.


I wanted to provide an update on the Township’s active litigation against four proposed billboards in Haverford, two of which would be located on Lancaster Avenue in Ward 5. For about 20 years, Haverford and Lower Merion have been fighting Catalyst, a company which has proposed four large billboards in Haverford Township. Two of these sites are located on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr, across from the Acme and near Our Mother of Good Counsel church in Haverford Township; two others are located on West Chester Pike. 

In 2020, the Court of Common Pleas directed the two townships and Catalyst to come to a settlement. Since that time, Haverford has been working with Catalyst to identify a settlement that would reduce the number of billboard sites proposed by Catalyst and prevent future billboards anywhere in the Township. 

As background, the township is legally required to zone an area that permits a billboard. A settlement would mean creating zoning for one, smaller digital billboard, most likely located near the entrance to I-476 on West Chester Pike. Additionally, Lower Merion would likely place a billboard along I-76 as part of the settlement, expressly for the purpose of taking the Lancaster Avenue sites off the table. If no settlement is reached, and the case goes back before the Court of Common Pleas, the judge would likely allow billboards on all four (or more) sites in Haverford, including the two sites on Lancaster. 

Large billboards along Lancaster in Bryn Mawr would be viewed by drivers, pedestrians, shoppers, church goers, and so many others in our community.  The right settlement would permanently prevent future billboards in the Township, rather than leaving the decision to a judge. Declining to settle would require spending more taxpayer dollars to appeal this case and the township would likely lose. The outcome could be multiple billboards throughout Haverford Township.

While I am strongly opposed to billboards in Haverford Township, given the history of this case and the potential for reducing damaging billboard blight, I will support the right settlement with Catalyst. I believe a settlement will protect Lancaster Avenue and Haverford Township permanently, as well as prevent billboards along our narrow residential thoroughfare in the heart of Bryn Mawr. 

Please reach out if you would like to talk or learn more about this important issue. 

Laura Cavender, 5th Ward Commissioner
lcavender@havtwp.org
202-415-9881

This billboard company dude is the same one who has been littering our Chester County communities with these billboards as well.

It really is a crappy thing that our communities get saddled with these signs so he can make a profit. Because that’s all that this is about is money and when you meet people like this or you run into people like this, you have to ask once in a while when is there enough money? When do you perhaps need to think about what the right thing to do is?

First billboard hearing 2009

It’s time for the Billboard Baron to leave Bryn Mawr and all of these other communities alone. I hope these communities, and there respective municipalities still have some fight left in them. After all, there are a lot of us, myself included, who first stood up in 2009 when this all started. A lot of us have given up years to fight these blights on our communities.

#NoBillboardsInTheBurbs

#NoBillboards

#BillboardsSuck

hey lower merion residents, is this your billboard future?

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Hey Lower Merion Township/Penn Valley/Gladwyne is this your future?

The secret is out. Once again the billboard baron is on the march. A reminder of what they did in East Whiteland Township, Chester County:

Oh and these are the trees they weren’t allowed to take in East Whiteland because residents went to PennDOT:

What has recently been heard regarding East Whiteland is that Catalyst withdrew their application from Penndot not so long ago and something like the billboard site is being sold to yet another billboard company?

And here are more views of current uses of the West Conshohocken sign not really so far away from where they want them in Lower Merion:

Yeah so read what came out from one Lower Merion Township Commissioner, Josh Grimes. And people say the commissioner in Bryn Mawr, Scott Zelov is all for moving the billboards so it now becomes the problem of another area of the township? Pretty obnoxious if true, right? Especially given all of the support other commissioners have gladly provided to him all these years over billboards in Bryn Mawr? Really hope this isn’t true don’t you? I also wonder who he’s using for a lawyer this time? Because unless I am mistaken I believe the lawyer he used and East Whiteland is actually Radnor Commissioner Jack Larkin and I wonder how he would feel if the shoe was on the other foot and they wanted to put billboards in Radnor?

And what’s with the carrot and rabbit psychology by billboard company? Kind of like what they did in East Whiteland, right? Perhaps it’s being done this way in Lower Merion because the objective all along was to get the giant TV billboards on the Schuylkill Expressway? Maybe the billboards should go up at “Maple Hill”? That’s in Gladwyne, right?

Please visit Daily Mail to read article

So my opinion which I’m entitled to have as I hope lower Merion fights these billboards because just because the man can buy a house in Lower Merion it doesn’t mean Lower Merion should have to be the location for his billboards unless they’re going on his own front lawn, Anyway, here is what Lower Merion residents are now facing:

no billboards in bryn mawr…haverford township…lower merion township…tredyffrin township….east whiteland township…and MORE

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In 2009, lots of people (myself included) started going to billboard hearings in Haverford Township. And in Lower Merion Township. Sometimes we numbered in the 150+ per meeting.

We all also used to protest regularly. The two townships and their solicitors and commissioners were solidly with the community too. They didn’t want these billboards anymore than the residents in these locations.

My friends in small Haverford Township neighborhoods were the most imminently threatened, like my pals on Penn Street, Dayton Road, Lee Avenue, San Marino and more (there are multiple locations in Haverford Township, these were just the streets near me.)

However, my own neighborhood which stretched out behind Our Mother of Good Counsel Church in Lower Merion was potentially affected. And even worse? Where I lived was in a HISTORIC DISTRICT! (Which is why The Lower Merion Conservancy is alerting people to the court hearings beginning today in Media! It’s STILL a historic district!)

Then after a few years of attending meetings which seemed monthly if not more, my life changed. First breast cancer, followed by a move to Chester County, and I thought well at least I don’t have to worry about those ugly billboards anymore, right?

Wrong.

Phoenixville, Charlestown Township, West Whiteland, Tredyffrin now headed for county court, and a lot of them planned for East Whiteland Township.

Relentless.

I get that the billboard company owner wants to sit in traffic and look at his signs, but they are his signs. They don’t belong to the community at all. Which is why you see elected officials in Lower Merion and Haverford Townships still fighting for the residents and starting today, if y’all want you can join them in Media:

Also this week? The billboard company is doing a presentation at the Desmond in Malvern on what they want to do in East Whiteland. See this flyer (which I personally did not create but I am sharing):

‼️Is this Chester County or Las Vegas? Good question. ‼️

It’s no secret how I feel about these billboards. I think they’re simply awful. I don’t think they have a place in our communities. I don’t think they do anything positive for our communities. It’s all about somebody else’s sense of capitalism. And while on a certain level I begrudgingly respect their desire to make a buck, they shouldn’t do it at the expense of people in communities everywhere should they?

The media has not really picked up on billboards in East Whiteland. They should as it is just another in a long long line or list of communities facing the same company.

And why is it that these billboards have to be everywhere? Or anywhere? Let us not forget there are FOUR states in this country that do not have billboards and they seem to live just beautifully. Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine—have prohibited billboards.

The protest photos you are seeing were taken by friends in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania yesterday. This morning I wish my friends who are headed or in court already in Media best of luck.

As communities near and far we are #StrongerTogether. #NoBillboards



do YOU want signs like this in your community?

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A friend of mine sent me this today because they were up in Quakertown, PA.

This is the company that Haverford Township goes to court with this week after many years of no activity. This is the billboard company that Lower Merion Township has gone to court with and Tredyffrin Township is currently in court with as well. This is the billboard company that has been to West Whiteland, Phoenixville borough, Charlestown Township, and now is beginning a journey with East Whiteland Township.

I think this is like the best of tacky Vegas and that’s not where we live is it? I think it’s even worse than I 95. But that’s just my opinion.

What is your opinion on the signs out there in blog reader land? I am honestly interested in your opinions. Feel free to leave a comment.

Billboards = Blight

#NoBillboards #NoBillboardsInTheBurbs

no billboards for christmas please, east whiteland

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Just when you think more headaches can’t possibly arise for East Whiteland residents, along comes the possibility of…..BILLBOARDS…BIG ELECTRONIC ones.

So riddle me this East Whiteland— why did you spend ridiculous amounts of taxpayer money on a Route 30 Corridor Study only to allow further deterioration via billboards? I mean What The ever loving F ? is Lancaster Ave / Route 30 / Lincoln Highway supposed to improve by being turned into I-95 in Philadelphia by GIANT television screens that are on 24/7/365? You haven’t even addressed the smaller one that blinds people near Lincoln Court!

Way to sneak in the holiday surprise, right? (Here is the link to the Planning Commission Agenda but the links to each of the items on billboard, but those links go absolutely nowhere right now .)

And about the E. Whiteland Outdoor, LLC?

So does that mean East Whiteland now has a lot in common with other townships like Tredyffrin, Haverford, Coatesville, and even more? (See the Community Matters Blog in Tredyffrin.)

And hey East Whiteland all those apartment dwellers you want on Route 30? Townhouses, etc? Do you really think these people and future residents want to have to buy blackout shades to avoid the glare of I-95 in Chester County? Because that is what people already face driving by that small non-related overly bright TV in front of part of Lincoln Court, right?

And it looks like East Whiteland zoning for off premises signs doesn’t exactly match the supposed spirit of what they supposedly wish to accomplish with the Route 30 Corridor Study?

I just can’t EVEN with this township. Sign me disgusted. If YOU are disgusted too please go to the Christmas Surprise Planning Commission Meeting. Wednesday December 18th at 7 PM. East Whiteland Township is located at 209 Conestoga Road, Frazer, PA 19355

#nobillboardsintheburbs

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Back to billboards. Happy Holidays affected residents, the issue that never seems to go away is back again.

May, 2009. That was the first billboard hearing about billboards in Haverford Township.

This includes the two ginormous billboards proposed for Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr across from the Bryn Mawr ACME and Our Mother of Good Counsel Church. Two ginormous billboards that would cast a ginormous shadow on lovely small neighborhoods in the vicinity.

Now mind you this was only one site proposed for Haverford Township, there were multiple sites. All in the shadow of churches, schools, small businesses, neighborhoods. And don’t forget the issue at five points in Bryn Mawr, which while technically in Lower Merion, also affects Radnor and Haverford Townships as this is the literal point where two counties and three townships meet. (To see articles about this topic, go to Main Line Media News and search “billboards, Bryn Mawr“.)

Well here we are at the end of 2019 and billboards are back as you can see above. This letter was sent out by Haverford Township 5th Ward commissioner Andy Lewis.

Andy said:

📌As per the attached letter, the hearing on the application of the Bartkowski Investment Group to install billboards in four locations in Haverford Township, including two along Lancaster Avenue at Old Lancaster and Penn Street, is scheduled to commence on Tuesday, January 21st and continue for three days. Please save the dates📌

I never know what the media is going to cover or not cover, and they have been quite devoted over the years to the residents potentially affected by these billboards. However, I have a lot of friends that still live near these billboards sites so I am posting this because how could I not? Back in the day I went to every billboard hearing until I was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring of 2011.

I will also note this is the same company residents in Tredyffrin are fighting. (See Community Matters.) In Tredyffrin they want to tear down the historic toll house replica built by Okie at Lancaster Ave and Route 252 in Paoli. (Also see Ban Digital Billboard in Paoli Page on Facebook.)

I saved lots of photos from these old Haverford Township hearings and I’m posting a few of them here. I want people to see things like when the firetruck shot their ladder up in Haverford Township above houses to show how tall the billboards would be. Or when residents in Haverford Township made a mock-up using big blue tarps of the actual size of a billboard screen being proposed. and photos of residents taking to the streets over this issue.

I no longer live in or near the areas of Haverford Township being threatened, nor do I live close by to the proposed site in Tredyffrin in Paoli. But as a citizen of this country until they revoke it, I still have my First Amendment Rights… which interestingly enough has always seem to be one of the arguments for why these billboards should be allowed and I’ve never understood that and can you understand that?

#NoBillboardsInTheBurbs pass it on. Please support the residents of Haverford Township, Lower Merion Township, Tredyffrin Township, and any other township who objects to these monstrosities in their communities.

I will also note that four states—Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine—have prohibited billboards. Yes, they banned them. So why can’t we say no?

I wonder would the folks from the billboard company want BIG digital billboards on their front lawns? Probably not and I doubt their neighbors would either, right? So why shouldn’t these communities be able to say “no thank you”?

BILLBOARDS = BLIGHT

on a clear day you can see forever….

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Got billboard? Or billboard fight in your community?

I just want everyone to take a good, long look at the ugliness that is the GIANT billboard on 202 in Westtown that is LIT UP 24/7.   Phoenixville, Bryn Mawr, Haverford Township, wherever you are, this bit of ugliness is why when someone comes to your town and says they have loverly billboards, you just want to say “no”.  It’s pretty much always the same guy around here, so he should be used to rejection by now.

 

it’s a billboard thing.

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Billlboards are just ugly and I find the digital ones very distracting and constantly question if they are actually safe.

I was a passenger in a car on 202 on Saturday and was astounded by the new billboards being erected in or around Westtown on 202. GIANT billboards that were like GIANT flat screen televisions.  I could not believe any municipality would think they were safe on an accident prone road like Route 202.

The photos were taken with my camera phone so they are fuzzy, but I think you get the picture, literally.  This was how bright they were during daylight hours.

Seriously, I can’t understand how any municipality in Chester County thinks these are a positive addition to any community, can you?

Here is the article from the billboard hearing wrap-up in Haverford Township. If you are in Phoenixville of any other community facing the prospects of billboards in your community, I suggest you read the article and check these billboards out live on Route 202.

Haverford zoning board hears final billboard arguments By LOIS PUGLIONESI Times Correspondent

Published: Monday, February 06, 2012

…..The proposed locations for the five, double-faced, 672-square-foot signs are 2040, 1330 and 1157 West Chester Pike, and 600 and 648 Lancaster Ave.
A decision will be issued Feb. 16, Chairman Robert Kane said, with a written opinion to follow.
Testimony spanned two years and nine months in 26 hearings
BIG attorney Marc Kaplin repeated his argument that Haverford’s sign ordinances improperly exclude billboards, a legitimate use. The township has the right to regulate but not prohibit these signs, Kaplin said. ….Township attorney Jim Byrne maintained that BIG’s validity challenge concerned the township’s alleged prohibition on outdoor advertising, with billboards comprising one form. Haverford allows alternate outdoor advertising forms, such as ads on bus shelter, shopping cart, and stadiums, Byrne said.
He averred that Haverford’s billboard exclusion is justified based on public health, safety and welfare concerns.
He noted to a recent calamity in which a seven-story billboard collapsed onto the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in New York.
And these gigantic signs are inherently intended to create driver distraction, Byrne said, undesirable in busy, congested areas witnesses have identified as already taxing for motorists.
Byrne cited the Pennsylvania Constitution, affording everyone the right to “clean air, pure water, preservation of natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment.”  (READ MORE HERE)

Also, a  cross-post from the Save Ardmore blog:

Hmmm.  Whaddya know?  The court says the Five Points Billboard in Bryn Mawr is not allowed?  Sticking out tongue

This news comes from Lower Merion Commissioner this afternoon.  To billboard activists I am sure this is both poignant and welcome news on the night of the last scheduled billboard hearing in Haverford Township. (as per WG Hills Mom it is at 7 pm today 2/2/2012 at Haverford Twp Bldg, 2325 Darby Rd, Havertown.)

Anyway, not to keep you in suspense, but here is (verbatim) the update on the Bryn Mawr Five Points Billboard as per Comissioner  Scott Zelov:

Dear Bryn Mawr Neighbors,

The Court has just today confirmed that the existing billboard in Bryn Mawr at the 5 points intersection is not allowed!   It’s been awhile since the Township issued a zoning violation against the billboard attached to a wall above that intersection.  After the notice was issued, the Township learned that the billboard company is the same company with whom Haverford Township and Lower Merion Township are at odds over billboards proposed for Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr—and for which the closing arguments are tonight in Haverford Township!  Over a year ago the Lower Merion Zoning Board found that the existing billboard had to be removed.  The decision was appealed, and this morning the Common Pleas Court denied the appeal and upheld the decision of the Lower Merion Zoning Board.  The decision can be further appealed to the Commonwealth Court; however, thus far the Township has achieved another big victory and excellent result against a billboard that doesn’t belong in our community. 

Thanks, Scott Zelov

Here’s a walk down memory lane on this particular billboard:

Main Line Times > News Billboard debate shifts to Five Points Published: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 By Cheryl Allison