A rendering submitted as part of the application for an LED billboard at 56 Newman Springs Road showing the proposed billboard with an “Oktoberfest” ad. (Photo by David Vilacoba Click to enlarge.)
By DAVID VILACOBA
And while not discussed at the hearing, the application raises the prospect of two such billboards rising along a 1.4 mile stretch of the roadway, which serves as County Route 520.
According to local press accounts and municipal agendas, another company has sought approval for a billboard at 329 Newman Springs Road in Middletown. That site, an Extended Stay America Suites, sits just across the Red Bank border.
The proposed location for the digitial billboard at 56 Newman Springs Road. (Photo by Brian Donohue)
The Red Bank applicants, Outfront Media LLC, would install the planned billboard in the parking lot of Circus Wine, Beer & Spirits.
The application stems from a legal battle between the company and the Red Bank Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Outfront had originally sought to replace its decades-old static billboard at 187 Riverside Ave. with a digital one, but the board denied that application. The advertisers then sued the borough over the denial in 2025.
The two sides recently came to a settlement. Outfront would drop its lawsuit against the borough if it gained approval for a digital billboard on Newman Springs Road. However, if the Zoning Board denies the application, the settlement is void and the lawsuit will continue.
The billboard on the liquor store parking lot would be around 43 feet above the ground and have two panels, one facing east and the other facing west. It would replace the current store sign, which Outfront has promised to rebuild elsewhere on the site.
The signage would feature an ad every eight seconds. The ads would not include any motion or animation, as per New Jersey Department of Transportation regulations.
As for lighting, Dan Dougherty, engineer for Outfront, said that the billboard would adjust to ambient light. This means that it would shine brightest during the day and become dimmer during the evening. The billboard would also include louvers, which would prevent light from going up towards the sky.
Jennifer Krimko, the applicant’s attorney, assured the board that there would be no “substantial intrusion” of light from the billboard into Count Basie Park and nearby residential areas. The structure, however, might be visible from those places.
Outfront has offered a few concessions as part of the legal settlement. These include turning off the billboard from midnight to 5 a.m., removing Outfront Media’s current static billboard on Riverside Avenue as well as seven other billboards around town and giving the borough 12.5% of the advertising time on their new billboard.
The applicants, and some others, emphasized the benefits of the free advertising time for the borough.
“ It would be so expensive for the town to advertise, and to have 12.5% on a billboard with advertising for the town is an unbelievable benefit,” said Victor Rallo, a restaurant owner who purchased the property on which Outront’s existing sign, whose replacement the zoning board denied, sits.
Rallo has plans to open a restaurant on the site at 187 Riverside Avenue.
The applicants also argued that the nature of the digital billboard would help with flexibility for advertisers.
“A restaurant can put out a breakfast advertisement in the morning, a lunch advertisement in the afternoon and a dinner special at night, and this is all done remotely. ” said Andrew Arvay, a representative for Outfront.
However, some board members brought up concerns over data collection and use.
While Outfront does not collect any data itself, it does use third-party sites to access anonymized data for people who regularly drive by the billboard, Krimko testified. Outfront says that this is a standard business practice used to market to clients.
“You would say we’d be interested in, if someone who likes coffee is within a mile of our billboard,” said Krimko. “And so they would tell us when someone who likes coffee is within a mile of our billboard.”
Asked if the company would agree to terms prohibiting the sign itself from gathering data, Krimko said the company would be “happy to accept that condition.”
Some board members had reservations about the use of data for a billboard.
“In a very small town, when I’m driving by the proposed site, I may be one of five [or] twenty cars. For an advertisement to be targeted to me in that scenario, it feels a bit more invasive,” said Board Member Jonathan Gilday.
Others were concerned about the way data collection could be used in the future.
“What I’m more concerned about as a resident is where does this all go from here?” resident Brian Ramirez said.
The applicant’s attorney, Jennifer Krimko, said that Oufront would abide by all regulations, present and future, regarding data collection and use.
The application requires ‘yes’ votes by five members of the seven-member Zoning Board of Adjustment. Thursday’s hearing ended without the board taking a vote. The hearing is scheduled to continue at the board’s October 1 meeting.
David Vilacoba is a redbankgreen reporting intern. Editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
