Billboard zoning change authorized at Town Meeting
Published on October 22nd, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - Town Meeting endorsed a zoning change on Monday night that will allow ClearChannel Outdoor to erect a two-faced digital billboard along Manison Street near I-93.
The assembly's affirmative two-thirds vote allows a 48-foot wide billboard, standing 70-feet tall, to be built within 100 feet of I-93 North. Similar proposals had been rejected twice by Town Meeting voters over the past three years.
If ClearChannel Outdoor receives state permission to construct the sign, Stoneham will receive over $1.3 million during the next 25 years. The payments would include an annual $50,000 impact fee for the first 15-years.
A 2.5 percent escalation clause will be tacked onto the $50,000 for the remaining 10 years of the agreement.
In addition to state approvals, the zoning change requires ClearChannel Outdoor to obtain a special permit from the Planning Board. If the Planning Board denies a request for a digital board, and instead demands a traditional paper sign, the impact fee will be dropped to $20,000 per year.
According to attorney Charles Houghton, who sponsored the article, the petition differed dramatically from previous proposals in that the zoning change restricted the placement of billboards to a small 1000-foot strip of space along I-93.
In addition, the advertisements could only be placed on a parcel of land that contains at least three acres, and the signs must be 1,500 feet away from one another - requirements that essentially prohibit more than one billboard from being erected.
“It's a U shape, and it points towards the highway. So you can't read it from Stoneham,” Houghton said. “It's really designed not to have an impact. But really, the final design will be approved by the Planning Board through a special permit.”
According to Planning Board Chairman Gus Niewenhous, the proposal was essentially a win-win for the town, as it placed severe restrictions on the sign's placement and limited impacts to residential abutters.
However, according to Finance Board member Russ Wilson, he believed that the billboard would detract from Stoneham's image. Wilson further argued that the impact fee was insufficient, given the aesthetic impacts.
“I have a bias. The aesthetics of the board does nothing for me. You have to look at the economics,” said Wilson. “It's unseemly to chase a few pennies.”
“I think $50,000 is a lot of money,” Houghton responded. “We're not the only community along I-93. If we say no, that doesn't mean there aren't going to be any more billboards.”
One area resident later agreed with Wilson, insisting that the sign would be an eyesore for residents living in the Marble Street area. The neighborhood resident implored the Town Meeting audience to consider whether they would want a billboard towering over their homes.
However, according to Planning Board member Gerard Cunningham, the financial benefits, especially given the town's fiscal climate in recent years, far outweighed the neighborhood's concerns about the aesthetic impact.
“There's 23,000 residents in this town and every night, when you put your children to bed, when I put my children to bed, there's two police officers on our streets. And you want to give away $50,000?” Cunningham commented.
In other developments, Town Meeting also took the following actions:
•Authorized the three year lease of the Arena snack shop, vending machines, and pro-shop;
•Permitted Town Administrator David Ragucci to sell excess land along Emerson Street near Town Hall and in the Hill Court parking lot;
•Granted an easement to NSTAR along Citation Avenue that will allow the utility company to address reoccurring outages nearby Fieldstone Drive and at the town's sewer pumping station;
o Indefinitely postponed a request for $372,000 to pay for the clean-up of the high school in the wake of last spring's fire in the building;
•Rejected a bid to fund the removal of the Franklin Street bumpouts;
•Authorized town officials to spend $600,000 for the high school roof replacement project;
•Required that all certified free cash be placed within the stabilization account next year.
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