An unwelcome sign of the times
Bright new billboard has neighbors seeing red
An electronic billboard located behind Greenfield's Public Works Department, located at 51st Street and Layton Avenue, stands tall — high enough to catch the attention of neighborhood residents who were unaware of deal between owner Clear Channel and the city. Photo By PETER ZUZGA
Greenfield — David Bressler was, to put it mildly, a bit surprised when a billboard was erected across the freeway from his home at 52nd Street and Bottsford Avenue.
The billboard, owned by Clear Channel and leased on city property at the Department of Public Works yard, is of the new electronic variety, rotating advertisements about every eight seconds.
Message overload
To Bressler and his neighbors north of Interstate 894, it's more than an eyesore. The brightness of the billboard infiltrates into some of their living rooms, they say, leading some to look into putting blackout drapes on their homes.
"I look out my front window and you can see what Doctor Phil's going to have on next week, how much McDonald's fries and sodas are, what the Powerball is going to be," said an eight-year resident of the neighborhood, Dan Jahn.
Exiting one dilemma
The story behind the billboard starts just down the road, where the state Department of Transportation wanted to install a new off-ramp at Loomis Road and Interstate 894.
To do that, a billboard on land the DOT later acquired had to be moved. DOT officials worked with the city and Clear Channel to find a different spot, and they came up with the DPW yard at 53rd Street and Layton Avenue.
The Common Council approved the plan in November, which could mean money to improve the quality of life for residents, said Alderwoman Pam Akers, whose district encompasses that neighborhood.
Clear Channel entered into a lease up to 40 years with the city that could generate more than $100,000 per year, said Rick Sokol, director of neighborhood services.
Dealing with another issue
City officials say they are now working with Clear Channel to try to provide some screening, perhaps in the form of trees, in order to give the affected residents some relief.
"The city doesn't want to overreact and minimize the positive financial impact, but we are trying to work with Clear Channel and those discussions are ongoing," Sokol said.
Those conversations are not going fast enough for some residents. Interstate noise barriers shield some residents from the view, but it is a bigger problem a little further out on the other side of the road.
"In the big scheme of things it might be something small, but to us, who have to look at every day, it's not," Bressler said.
City officials have looked into whether the billboard is too bright and found it complies with the municipal code dealing with light pollution.
Bressler said screening might help some - "Anything is better than the way it is now," he said.
Not getting the message
But he and other residents are also upset they weren't notified before the billboard was put in.
Representatives from nearby Biltrite Furniture were contacted and spoke to the Common Council, but there was not a formal public hearing, nor was one required.
It would be impossible to give notice on every single issue in every neighborhood, said Sokol, adding the meeting was held publicly and broadcast on cable television.
Given the limited advance notice, Bressler, who along with his wife, Barbara, have lived in their home for nine years, got the neighborhood involved after the fact.
This month, he distributed more than 200 fliers around the neighborhood urging residents to contact the city.
He hopes the end result of the fliers is that city officials will notify residents in the future and give them an opportunity to comment before similar issues are discussed.
"I don't think it was fair the way it was done," he said. "It's just the way it came about, that something like that can show up in your front or backyard and you have no say or notice."
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