Residents: We Don’t Want Billboards

Nearly 50 residents of two townships came to the Haverford High School auditorium to give testimony Thursday night to the Haverford Township Zoning Board that they do not want billboards in their areas.

Before the testimony could be heard, Bartkowski Investment Group (BIG) attorney Marc Kaplin objected to having residents give testimony because they would not be giving any “factual” information.

“This is supposed to be a justicial hearing,” Kaplin told the Haverford-Havertown Patch during a break. “No one has said anything relevant to the legal case.”

But the zoning board did allow residents to testify in the case were 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, but will overlook Lower Merion Township, and three signs along West Chester Pike in Haverford Township.

BIG is challenging Haverford Township’s prohibition of billboards, saying that it violates First Amendment rights, Kaplin reminded Patch.

Many residents echoed the same sentiments as to why they did not want to have billboards in Haverford and Lower Merion townships:

• The billboards would not look nice.
• Cannot control the messages on the billboard.
• Would not give revenue to township.
• Would lower property value.
• Would cause drivers to become distracted.

During the testimony of 46 residents, Kaplin, Haverford Township attorney Kelly Sullivan and Lower Merion Solicitor Bill Kerr did not ask many questions. At one point Kaplin was not sitting at the table with Sullivan and Kerr and was sitting on the steps of the stage checking the contents of his smartphone. 

One of the few times a person was crossed-examined was Ward 10 Commissioner of Lower Merion Scott Zelov by Kaplin.

“Oversized billboards don’t belong in suburban roads on suburban neighborhoods. They do have a place. They belong on limited access interstate highways. In fact, in Lower Merion Township they are permitted on the limited access interstate highways that is the Schuylkill Expressway,” Zelov said.

Kaplin challenged Zelov’s testimony about the Schuylkill Expressway, stating that the interstate highway runs into Lower Merion Township even though the township “prohibited billboards anywhere in the township despite the fact 76 goes through the township.”  

Kerr asked the board for the relevance of Kaplin’s statement to Zelov. Kaplin told the board that Zelov stated that Lower Merion Township only allows billboards on the Schuylkill Expressway within the township because there was a challenged in the past, which prompted Sullivan to ask that the board to strike “Mr. Kaplin’s testimony” from the record, which brought applauses from the nearly 100 people in the audience.  

The board told Kaplin that his statement “borderlines” on testimony and that he must ask Zelov a question.  

Kaplin then asked if Zelov knows if Lower Merion Township was challenged to allow billboards on the Schuylkill Expressway, which Zelov answered that he was not sure.  

No one gave testimony in favor of the billboards, which prompted 7th Ward Commissioner James E. McGarrity to say to the board that, “The people here have spoken.”  

Despite Kaplin’s saying that the residents were not giving expert testimony, Leigh Ann Smith, of the Federation of Lower Merion Township Civic Associations, boldly told him that residents who have lived in their townships for years are experts of their neighborhoods.  

She presented a resolution opposing the billboards being placed on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr to the board on behalf of her association. The association has signed in agreement of the resolution every year since 2009, she said. That resolution, which she gave to Patch, can be seen below the pictures.  

Robert Kane, zoning hearing board chairman, told Patch after the meeting that the board would consider the testimony of the residents.

Kaplin will present video testimony at another hearing on Thursday, Nov. 17.