A rendering presented to the zoning board by Outfront Media LLC illusrating how the digital billboard on Newman Springs Road might look. (Photo by David Vilacoba. Click to enlarge.)
By DAVID VILACOBA
The 43-foot-tall billboard will go up in the parking lot at 56 Newman Springs Road, and replace the current sign for Circus Wine, Beer & Spirits.
Outfront had originally planned to replace their static billboard at 187 Riverside Ave. with a digital billboard. However, the board denied that application, which prompted a lawsuit from the advertisers 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 denied the application, the settlement would have been void and the lawsuit would have continued.
Additionally, Outfront promised to remove nine other static billboard faces at five locations around town, institute a seven-year moratorium for converting static billboards to digital signs and give one-eighth of the new billboard’s advertising time to the borough, among other concessions.
Jennifer Krimko, the applicant’s attorney, said the company must remove them before the new digital sign is built.
Many members of the board cited the removal of signage around town as a key factor in their approval of the digital billboard.
“We’re [getting] a bunch of signs taken down, which is a positive for the town, and hopefully would strengthen our billboard ordinance in the future so you can’t build billboards in town,” Board Chairman Ray Mass said.
Krimko also assured the board that there would be “zero” light intrusion from the billboard in nearby residential areas. In addition, the sign will use “Narrow View” technology, which dims the light from the billboard when looking at it from an angle.
The applicants also argued that the billboard would be in an ideal section of the town.
“We’re removing nine billboard faces… in locations right now that your master plan deems really not appropriate and it puts it into an area that is a commercial-oriented highway business-type district,” said Michael Cauker, the planner for the applicant. “It’s clearly a more appropriate district.”
A 2024 photo of the original proposed site for the digital billboard, which was rejected by the Zoning Board, spurring a lawsuit by Outfront Media LLC.
However, some believed the application relied too heavily on its conditions, rather than the suitability of the site.
“I have a hard time reconciling what makes a moratorium and cases coming down at other sites make this site particularly suited more so than any other site,” said Board Member Jonathan Gilday, who cast the sole vote against the application.
Others expressed disappointment concerning the scale of the billboard.
“I am saddened that we’re facing just so much multimedia that we need such advertising constantly in our lives,” Esther Nelson, a resident, said.
Despite some opposition, the majority of board members thought that following the settlement was the best way to move forward.
“I think that there’s nobody here doing a happy dance, and I think that’s the sign of a good compromise,” Board Member Eugene Horowitz said.
Afterwards, the board also voted to approve the construction of a two-family home at 195 Drs James Parker Blvd.
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