New Billboard?

-
Also from the Dayton Daily News:

City wants feedback on giant billboard for commuters

Monday, January 26, 2009

DAYTON — City officials want to know what residents think of a proposed mega, electronic billboard along U.S. 35 that would include a gateway feature welcoming commuters to the city.

"We need to make sure people know about this, before it surprises them one morning on the way to work," City Planner Tony Kroeger said.

Dayton-based Key-Ads Inc. has asked the city for waivers from height, setback and distance from residence requirements for the proposed 396-square-foot billboard to be located on U.S. 35 at Todd Street, near Linden Avenue.

This is a privately funded project, with no tax dollars being used to support it. The billboard would be located on the north side of the highway in an industrial area.

"It truly would be state of the art, with the newest digital technology," Nick Keyes, Jr., vice president of Key-Ads.

The company, a family-owned business operating in Dayton since 1955, plans to allow some public service messages on the billboard and they would have the ability to quickly post Amber Alerts.

Two public meetings have been set to discuss the proposed sign. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 6:15 p.m. at the Southeast Priority Board, 2160 E. Fifth Street. The city of Dayton Plan Board will have the proposed billboard on its agenda at 4:30 p.m. in City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

Key-Ads initially agreed to remove a billboard at Hoover and Verona in exchange for the waivers, but the Plan Board felt removal of that 72-square-foot billboard would not result in an equitable exchange for the new one.

The Plan Board also expressed concern that the billboard would affect a major view of downtown from the highway and that it would be visible from homes on Carlisle Avenue.

"We designed the billboard to be a part of the vista," Keyes said. "The nearest home is across the highway 300 feet away."

In response to these concerns, Key-Ads modified their application to offer three proposals, each including the removal of multiple billboards so that the waivers could be granted for the U.S. 35 sign.