Office of Outdoor Advertising Public Meeting

Transcription

1 Office of Outdoor Advertising Public Meeting February, 0 :00 AM Ten Park Plaza Conference Rm & Boston, MA 0 Present: Edward Farley, Executive Director Chris Quinn, Esq., Counsel

2 P R O C E E D I N G S EDWARD FARLEY: Good morning everyone. I would like to call this meeting to order. Today is February, 0. It is :00 AM. My name is Edward Farley. I am the Director for the Office of Outdoor Advertising. To my left is Chris Quinn, our legal counsel. If you haven t already done so, please sign in at the side of the table. Also there are agendas, and abbreviated minutes from the January, 0 OOA Meeting. With that, we will have a review of the minutes from the January th meeting. Are there any comments on the minutes? Hearing no comment, the minutes from January th are adopted. 0 Moving on to first agenda item, application for new license from Outdoor Properties, Wild Grove Lane, Longmeadow, MA. For the record, this application has been reviewed, is in order, and is accompanied with record of fees and paperwork. Is there someone representing Outdoor Properties here this morning? Okay, again, I have reviewed this application. Is there any public comment regarding

3 0 this license application? Hearing no public comment we are going to grant license to Outdoor Properties, Inc. Moving on to the next order of business. We have an application for transfer of permits from Agnoli Sign Company to Outdoor Properties. There is a total of seven permits. Again, this application has been reviewed and is in order. Is there any public comment regarding the transfer from Agnoli Sign Company to Outdoor Properties? Hearing no comment, these transfers are approved. Our third item is a transfer of permit from Clear Channel Outdoor to Logan Communications. Again, this application has been reviewed, and is in order. Is there any comment relative to this transfer? Okay, hearing no comment the transfer is approved. Moving onto our fourth item, application for electronic permit from Splash Media. This application is 0D00 and 0D00. This is to convert an existing static board over to an electronic one. For the record, municipal notification was received by the City of Lowell on December, 0.

4 0 Is the applicant present today? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Edward O Sullivan representing Splash Media. ED FARLEY: Okay, is there anyone here representing the municipality? Okay, Mr. O Sullivan, can I ask, was certified mail sent to abutters within 00-feet, at least 0 days prior to submitting this application. EDWARD O SULLIVAN: That is my understanding. Yes it was. ED FARLEY: And this is the letter I received yesterday? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Yes. That is a copy that was sent to you. ED FARLEY: Okay. Are there any abutters present this morning? Mr. O Sullivan, did you receive any comment either written or otherwise from any abutters after the notification was mailed? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: No, none. There was also a public notice from the Lowell Zoning Board of Appeals which nobody attended in opposition. ED FARLEY: Okay, and this permit was issued via special permit from the City of Lowell? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: That is correct.

5 0 ED FARLEY: And that was recently updated on January? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Yes, it was. ED FARLEY: Okay. Chris Chaves, will you give us a - Jason Bean did the inspection, but he is from Western Mass so he is not here this morning. CHRIS CHAVES: This is a proposed digital conversion of current permits 000 and 000. Located at Mile Avenue in Lowell. The two businesses Jason has to fit the requirement are Alpine Butcher and Mobile Gas Station. This current sign is within an on-ramp but due to Lowell s population being,000 people fits it well beyond the 0,000-population requirement. Other than that there are no other issues or concerns for this site. It is compliant with digital. ED FARLEY: Are there any comments from either the District Office or Traffic Operations. STEVE TIMMINS: Yes. ED FARLEY: Mr. Timmins. STEVE TIMMINS: Steve Timmins representing Neil Bordeaux, State Traffic Engineer. We have looked at the location and determined that a formal traffic study will not be required. However,

6 0 we would request that once the new displays are in place that the District Office monitor traffic conditions to determine if there is a distraction to Route traffic given the proximity of the entrance and exit ramps to the board. ED FARLEY: Okay, thank you, Mr. Timmins. CHRIS QUINN: So the District will do the monitoring. STEVE TIMMINS: Yes. CHRIS QUINN: Okay. ED FARLEY: Is there any further public comment? Okay, hearing none applications 0D00 and 0D00 will be taken under advisement. Just for clarification we did notice, Mr. O Sullivan, there is a curfew set by the city and it looked like the numbers were inversed. We have to and I m curious is the curfew AM to PM? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: I will have to get clarification for you and get back to you. ED FARLEY: Okay. The application says hours of operation is AM to AM, so I m thinking that is probably -- EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Let me get that

7 0 clarified for you. ED FARLEY: Okay. Moving on to electronic permit application number 0D00, RSA Media, for a proposed conversion and static board to electronic in Auburn, MA. For the record, municipal notification was sent out on December, 0. Is the applicant present this morning? JAMES LACK: Yes sir. James Lack and Susan Eastman for RSA Media. ED FARLEY: Is there anyone representing the Town of Auburn here today? Okay. Mr. Lack, was certified mail notice to abutters within 00-feet sent out at least 0 days prior to this application being submitted? JAMES LACK: That is my understanding. It was also in the Worcester Telegram for two weeks. ED FARLEY: Okay. Do you by chance have a copy of the letter that was sent for the record? JAMES LACK: Yes, I do and a list of the abutters. ED FARLEY: Okay. Thank you. JAMES LACK: It also has the newspaper notice as well.

8 0 ED FARLEY: Are there any abutters present this morning? Okay, Mr. Lack, did you receive any written notification from abutters regarding this application? JAMES LACK: No sir. ED FARLEY: Okay. JAMES LACK: And no abutters appeared at the Zoning Board. ED FARLEY: Okay, and who did the inspection? MARC PLANTE: I did. ED FARLEY: Okay, Mr. Plante, can you give us a rundown of the inspection. MARC PLANTE: This is an existing monopole, single faced, it is facing Interstate Route 0 which is the Massachusetts Turnpike. It is for a digital conversion. It is a static board now, permit number 000. The two businesses are located in a commercial character zone. The two businesses would be Casey Storage and (inaudible phrase) Manufacturing. There are no issues with spacing for other signs and there are no conservation or park issues. It is compliant for this conversion. ED FARLEY: Okay. In essence we are

9 0 just looking to replace the static face with an electronic one? We are not looking to increase the height or -- JAMES LACK: Yes. It is exactly the same height nothing except change the face from static to digital. ED FARLEY: Okay. Any public comment regarding this application this morning? Okay, hearing none we are going to take application 0D00 under advisement. Our next applicant is Cove Outdoor. We have an application for a new structure in the City of Peabody. Applications number 0D00 and 0D00. Is the applicant present this morning? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Yes. ED FARLEY: For the record, Mr. O Sullivan is wearing a couple of different hats today. EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Yes. ED FARLEY: Okay. For the record, municipal notification was sent out on December, 0. Do we have a representative from the City of Peabody here this morning? My apologies, on the last application, I don t want to get ahead of myself, but did we have

10 any comments from the District Office or Traffic Operations? STEVE TIMMINS: Yes. Boston Traffic Engineering has determined that a formal traffic study nor monitoring of the district at this location be required. ED FARLEY: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Timmins. All right, Okay, Mr. O Sullivan, can I ask, was certified mail to abutters within 00-feet sent at least 0 days prior to the submittal of the application? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Yes it was. ED FARLEY: Okay. Are there any abutters here this morning? Mr. O Sullivan, did you receive any letters or feedback regarding the new sign build? EDWARD O SULLIVAN: No feedback, other than public comment by City Council. They were all in favor. 0 permit or variance? ED FARLEY: Okay. Was this special EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Special permit. ED FARLEY: Okay, ten/nothing vote. EDWARD O SULLIVAN: Yes sir.

11 0 ED FARLEY: Okay, who did the inspection? Mr. Chaves, can you give us an overview of the inspection. CHRIS CHAVES: Certainly. This is a proposed new build located behind the Extended Stay America, 00 Jubilee Drive in Peabody. Proposed to face Route North and South. The area is of business character. The two business for the requirement are Extended Stay America Hotel and Analogic (sounds like) Corporation. There are no spacing s between other signs in the area or parks, etcetera. This site is in compliance for digital. ED FARLEY: Okay. Mr. Timmins, are there any comments from Traffic Operations regarding this proposed location? STEVE TIMMINS: Yes. Regarding the Northbound face we are concerned the moderate to high potential for distraction given everything that is happening in that area. Not only the Main line dropping a lane but the various on and off-ramps in that immediate area. So for the northbound face we recommend a formal traffic study be conducted. For the southbound face we have no issues and don t see the need for either a formal

12 0 traffic study or monitoring by the District Office. ED FARLEY: Okay, thank you. Any additional public comment this morning? Mr. O Sullivan, I can share with you at a later time what a formal traffic study would require to move forward with the issuance of permit. For the time being I am going to say that applications 0D00 and 0D00 are taken under advisement. Okay, moving on to our last applications Clear Channel 0D00 and 0D0. Proposed conversion of a static board to electronic in the Town of Wakefield. For the record, municipal notification was received by the Town of Wakefield on January, 0. First, is the applicant present this morning? JOHN PELRINE: Yes, John Pelrine, Clear Channel. ED FARLEY: Okay, is there anyone representing the Town of Wakefield? Okay, Mr. Pelrine, can I ask, was certified mail to abutters sent within 00-feet at least 0 days prior to submittal of the application. JOHN PELRINE: Yes, they were. ED FARLEY: Okay. For the record, I do

13 0 have a copy of that letter on file. Did you receive any comment or feedback from that letter? JOHN PELRINE: No comments. It was a unanimous vote for a variance. ED FARLEY: Okay, are there any abutters present this morning? Okay, and who did the inspection? CHRIS CHAVES: I did. ED FARLEY: Okay, Mr. Chaves, can you give us an overview of the inspection? CHRIS CHAVES: Yes sir. This is a proposed digital conversion with two current trivision boards located facing Interstate North and South. The area is of commercial use. Again the two businesses that fit the criteria are Jordan s Furniture and Fuddruckers. The existing permits are 0 and 0 and again, this meets all the criteria and is compliance with digital. ED FARLEY: Okay, is there any comment this morning from Traffic Operations relative to this proposed location? STEVE TIMMINS: Yes, regarding the northbound face we are concerned that there is a moderate potential for distraction from traffic

14 0 merging onto North from North Ave. This is in our opinion exasperated by the fact that there is an existing adjacent electronic display for the IMAX Theatre. So that having the two displays in conjunction with the proximity to the entrance ramp. Therefore for the northbound face we recommend that a formal traffic study be conducted. Regarding the southbound face we see minimal potential for distraction at best. So no traffic study or District monitoring will be needed. ED FARLEY: Thank you. CHRIS QUINN: Is the sign the same height as the existing display? JOHN PELRINE: Are you asking me? CHRIS QUINN: Yes. JOHN PELRINE: It is an on-premise trivision for Jordan s Furniture. For the record, it is not a digital sign, it is a tri-vision. CHRIS QUINN: Right. Is the height going to be the same? JOHN PELRINE: I believe that is probably higher than our existing sign because this is up on a hill. (Inaudible phrases -- too many

15 speakers) JOHN PELRINE: Our sign is staying the same. CHRIS QUINN: The same. Okay. ED FARLEY: -feet. 0 JOHN PELRINE: Yes. STEVEN ROSS: May I make a comment? ED FARLEY: Sure. STEVEN ROSS: Steven Ross, Clear Channel Outdoor. I would suggest a traffic survey study is not needed because it is already a changeable sign which is a tri-vision. ED FARLEY: Okay. STEVE TIMMINS: Our concern is the proximity of two similar signs that are changeable displays one is a tri-vision, the other is a full digital in close proximity and in close proximity to the entrance ramp to northbound. ED FARLEY: Is there any further comment or discussion on these applications. Okay, application 0D00 and 0D0 will be taken under advisement. Noted for the record items, are there any comment. Any public comment at all this morning? Okay, hearing no public comment, it is : and this

16 meeting is adjourned. Thank you. (Whereupon, the proceedings were concluded on February, 0 at : a.m.)

17 C E R T I F I C A T E I, Tammy A. Hillery, do hereby certify that the foregoing record is a true and accurate transcription of the proceedings in the above-captioned matter to the best of my skill and ability. Tammy A. Hillery **All names not provided were spelled phonetically to the best of my ability.