Billboard company that won in Tarentum now challenging East Deer to put up 4 electronic signs

A Butler company that won a four-year legal battle to place an electronic billboard at the Tarentum Bridge has launched a similar claim in neighboring East Deer.

America First Enterprises, which does business as Oliver Outdoor, wants to put up four billboards in three locations that would be visible to drivers on the Route 28 expressway.

Three of the billboard’s would be 57 feet high.

Two would be located at 1101 Freeport Road, one 14-by-48 feet in size and the other 12-by-24 feet.

The third, 14-by-48 feet, would be on a wooded lot in the 900 block of Bellview Street behind the East Deer Personal Care Home.

The fourth, at 1300 Freeport Road, would also be 14-by-48 feet — and the highest at 72 feet.

Maureen Sweeney, an attorney representing the company, said it should be allowed to place the billboards where it wants because, she said, East Deer’s zoning ordinance is unconstitutional because it does not allow billboards anywhere in the township.

She pointed to language in the section on signs that says, “No sign shall be used for display or advertising, except that pertaining to the use conducted on the property or carried on within the building.”

The township’s Zoning Hearing Board held a hearing on the company’s contention Thursday. It will have to render a decision within 45 days.

Sweeney said the company applied for building and zoning permits for the billboards in March. While the building permits were approved, she said the zoning permits were withheld.

During the hearing, East Deer Commissioner Tony Taliani said the township’s position is that the ordinance is not exclusionary of billboards.

“Billboards are mentioned multiple times in that zoning ordinance,” he said. “If you drive through East Deer Township, you’ll see multiple billboards in East Deer Township.”

Although billboards are mentioned in the ordinance, Sweeney said it specifically excludes them.

“There may be billboards that predate this ordinance. I don’t know what those circumstances are. There’s no evidence with regards to those,” she said. “The fact that there’s a billboard in the township does not negate the fact that this ordinance is exclusionary.”

Taliani said township Solicitor Craig Alexander is researching the matter and will report back to commissioners. Alexander did not attend the hearing because of a scheduling conflict, Taliani said.

While Taliani said commissioners will want to provide that evidence to the Zoning Hearing Board for its deliberations, its chairman, Paul Duffer, said it should have been ready for the hearing.

“I would submit they’ve had ample time to put on testimony at this point,” Sweeney said. “The issue here before you is whether the ordinance is exclusionary.”

Matthew Pitsch has lived on Bellview Street since 2010. His home is next to the wooded lot where one of the billboards is proposed to be placed. While he is East Deer’s engineer, Pitsch said he has not been involved in any review of the billboards.

With Route 28 in his back yard, Pitsch concedes he does not live in the country where it’s pitch black at night. Still, he’s worried what impact light from a billboard next door would have on his home, both for living in it and its value should he ever want to sell it.

He would prefer that a billboard not be placed in the residential area.

“Who wants to live under a billboard?” he said. “I feel there’s better suited locations. It’s not a good fit.”

Oliver Outdoor is currently assembling an electronic billboard at the Tarentum end of the Tarentum Bridge. A pole about 90 feet tall has been built for the assembled billboard, which is 14-by-48 feet.

The company first sought permission from Tarentum for the sign in January 2019. In May 2021, an Allegheny County judge agreed with the company’s contention that Tarentum’s zoning excluded billboards, and Commonwealth Court upheld that decision last August after the borough appealed.

Tarentum tried to appeal to the state Supreme Court, but the court in February denied the borough’s petition.

Jerry Oliver is a general partner in America First Enterprises with his brother. As he said to Tarentum in 2019, Oliver told East Deer’s Zoning Hearing Board that they would provide free use of the billboards by the township, community groups and non-profits, and for emergency services such as Amber Alerts.

“We don’t desire a lengthy court battle here,” Sweeney said to East Deer’s Zoning Hearing Board. “We don’t think it’s a good use of taxpayer dollars. We want to work with the community here by providing services to the community at no charge.”