The Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners held a special meeting Aug. 24 regarding the Adams Outdoor Advertising curative amendment hearing.

In January 2019, Adams Outdoor Advertising proposed a double-sided LED billboard at 2862 MacArthur Road. The billboard was going to measure 10 feet tall and 30 feet wide. It was also to be placed on one pole not to exceed 35 feet.

The township denied the sign permit and site plan later that month.

Now, Adams Outdoor is challenging Whitehall’s zoning ordinances, alleging the township does not provide for all potential uses. In this case, the potential use is billboards, LED or otherwise.

The township’s zoning ordinance defines advertising signs and billboards the same, said Attorney Jim Preston, representing Adams Outdoor Advertising.

The definition for billboard is as follows - “a paddle-type sign having a sign display area advertising goods, persons, products, services or ideas which are not sold, manufactured, distributed or provided on the premises where the sign is situated.”

Preston said this definition is usually associated with off-premise signs.

Further, the denial letter from the township cited two sections of the zoning code, sections 27.153 and 27.165.

Section 27.153 outlines specific criteria for advertising signs in the township. Advertising signs, or billboards, must be placed in a commercial- or industrial-zoned district and not less than 2,000 feet from a residentially zoned district.

Using those criteria on a township map, Jason Engelhardt, civil engineer, alleged the zoning in Whitehall Township essentially does not allow for any billboards.

Section 27.165 details criteria for electronic and LED signs in the township. Electronic and LED signs may only be placed in C2 or C2A, a subset of commercial zoning districts. These signs must also not be less than 1,000 feet from a residential district.

These signs must first satisfy the requirements of section 27.153, as well as the standards outlined in this section. Essentially, the criteria further restrict the possibility of having an electronic or LED billboard in Whitehall Township.

Lois Arciszewski, real estate manager for Adams Outdoor Advertising, discussed the changes she made to the township’s zoning ordinance in her drafted amendment.

Her proposed amendment would lessen the required setback to 250 feet for both advertising signs and electronic/LED billboards, from the current 2,000 and 1,000 feet requirements.

Further, Arciszewski suggested having the required setback from a residence itself rather than an entire residential district. Her reasoning is that MacArthur Road is zoned commercial but has residentially zoned districts one block behind it.

She also discussed the dwell time, or frequency of display change, in the township’s ordinance. Currently, the ordinance allows for a change once every 15 seconds.

Arciszewski proposed lessening that to eight seconds. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation allows for a change every five seconds, while other states’ departments of transportations average between four and 10 seconds.

The board’s deliberation and a potential vote will be held at the Oct. 3 workshop meeting.