By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – The borough’s zoning board voted unanimously last week to deny Outfront Media LLC’s proposal to replace an existing static billboard with a new 27-foot-tall digital LED billboard. The decision came after a contentious three-hour public hearing during which residents, business owners and officials voiced strong opposition to the plan.
Outfront Media, one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in the U.S., had sought a use variance to replace an existing 60-year-old traditional billboard with a new digital billboard that would have LED multi-messaging technology on 380 square feet of signage. The billboard would have been situated at 187 Riverside Ave, the site of a former gas station at the intersection of Riverside and Bridge avenues, a busy gateway into Red Bank’s historic downtown.
At the Nov. 21 meeting, professional planner Christine Cofone and attorney Jennifer Krimco, on behalf of Outfront, returned with a scaled-down version of the 40-foot-high billboard originally proposed in February 2023.
Krimco presented several concessions when seeking approval for the new billboard, including a smaller sign face and the addition of “narrow view technology,” which would limit the sign’s viewing angle, making it visible from fewer locations compared to the existing static billboard.
The digital billboard would be turned off from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., eliminating light pollution during overnight hours when the current static billboard is illuminated.
Outfront Media also offered to provide the borough with two hours a day of operating time for community messaging. Additionally, the company agreed to remove six existing static billboards from two other locations in Red Bank in exchange for the approval of the proposed LED billboard.
However, numerous residents and business owners testified that the digital billboard would be a dangerous distraction, particularly for southbound drivers coming into Red Bank on Route 35. Several cited traffic studies showing it was already one of the most dangerous areas in town.
“When you’re making that 45-degree angle, you know what’s in front of you? A mess of poles,” said Thomas Wilson, a resident who has been living in a house just over the bridge in Middletown for nearly 46 years. Wilson told board members if the electronic billboard was approved, there would be “blood on your hands.”
“If this billboard is allowed, it would be impossible for someone to redevelop” the property, argued Victor Rallo, owner of Birravino restaurant, adjacent to the proposed billboard site.
“This billboard is all about dollars and cents,” Rallo told the board, noting that the former gas station property has been contaminated for decades. Rallo said he tried to purchase the property twice in the past to clean it up but the cost of environmental remediation coupled with Outfront’s lease terms with the owner hinder developers from building on the site. Anything that potentially blocks the billboard’s view would not be permitted, making redevelopment challenging.
Rallo provided documents, including a copy of the current billboard lease and an estimate for environmental remediation of the property, to support his arguments. He told the board that the digital billboard would increase the cost for anyone trying to buy out the existing lease and develop the property, effectively locking it in its current blighted condition. He said the proposed digital billboard was not an “upgrade” but rather the replacement of an existing structure with a new, more valuable one that risks the property’s future development.
Bob Zuckerman, former executive director of Red Bank RiverCenter, the borough’s promotional agency, strongly opposed the idea of billboards at the entryway of the town because it “does not serve our community,” he said, noting that the “overwhelming majority of ads that you’ll see, if this billboard gets approved, are national or regional. They are not local.”
He also said it would set a “terrible precedent,” pointing out that digital billboards are not found in the heart of other premier downtowns in New Jersey, such as Westfield, Summit or Princeton.
Developer Jay Herman gave 10 reasons to reject the application and said, if approved, “Red Bank will be a laughingstock.”
Board attorney Kevin Kennedy said the application was “nuanced and intense;” board engineer Ed Herman called it one of the “most challenging” applications. The zoning board ultimately determined a use variance was required for the digital billboard, which they voted unanimously to deny.
“We haven’t heard any testimony from a traffic expert,” board member Ben Yuro said. “I’m not convinced on the safety issue.”
“The town has made it clear they are not in favor of the billboard,” said Ray Mass, board chairman, when denying the application. Driving through the intersection is “a nightmare,” he added.
The article originally appeared in the November 28 – December 4, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
