Red Bank Zoning Board Strikes Down LED Billboard Proposal

RED BANK, NJ — The Red Bank Zoning Board unanimously rejected a proposed LED billboard on Riverside Avenue during a board meeting on Thursday.

The proposed billboard, which would be located near the bridge between Red Bank and Middletown, has been a topic of debate for the zoning board since February 2023.

Though the proposal has been adjusted and scaled down over time, it faced heavy criticism and questions from board members and residents alike on Thursday.

Traffic safety, borough ordinances and redevelopment were just some of the many concerns brought up during the meeting.

The Proposed Billboard
According to Jennifer Krimko, an attorney for Outfront Media (the billboard applicant), the proposed project would upgrade an existing ground billboard with a new, 27-foot structure featuring LED light messaging.

The total sign face would be 380 square feet and move 0.5 feet back from the property line. This would move the billboard further away from the property, according to Daniel Dougherty, an engineer from Dynamic Engineering Consultants.

If approved by the board, Krimko said Outfront Media would take down six other billboards in exchange for upgrading the Riverside Avenue one.

In addition, the LED light messaging would be turned off from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., allowing nearby residents to go to bed without any light coming in from the sign.

“The only way to modernize a static billboard is to replace the foundation,” Krimko said. “There is physically no way to stick a digital billboard face on the foundation for a static billboard. So we’re proposing to replace the structure, but maintaining the [billboard’s] use.”

Resident Concerns
Throughout the public comment portions of Thursday’s meeting, residents took to the floor to express their concerns and criticisms of the proposed billboard.

One resident, Victor Rallo, voiced his concerns about the billboard’s proximity to his restaurant, Birravino, and what the upgrade would mean for Red Bank as a whole.

According to Rallo, the gas station property where the current billboard resides has been “a thorn in [his] side” for the past 30 years. If the billboard is changed with the proposed upgrades, Rallo said he worries the property will be even harder to re-develop and will be a bad look for the town.

“If we want Red Bank to be a better place and for people to come into Red Bank and see the beauty this town offers, then that’s [the new billboard] an awful first look,” Rallo said.

Bob Zuckerman, the executive director of the Red Bank RiverCenter, echoed Rallo’s concerns about the billboard’s impact on the borough.

According to Zuckerman, the RiverCenter aims to beautify Downtown Red Bank, and billboards generally present “a blight” to that effort.

“They’re not appropriate at the beginning of a historic downtown,” Zuckerman said. “As soon as you cross over the bridge from Middletown [where the billboard would be located], you’re in Downtown Red Bank. And I don’t believe that [billboards] are appropriate there.”

Jay Herman, another resident who attended Thursday’s meeting, argued that billboards don’t align with Borough ordinances and are not permitted in Red Bank in general.

“This huge sign couldn’t exist on any billboard in Red Bank,” Herman said. “Why would the borough permit it to be on a lot, for the benefit of businesses based out of the borough, with a size that dwarfs all of our permitted signs?”

Thomas Wilson, a Middletown resident who lives in the first house over the bridge, urged the board to consider the potential safety ramifications of the billboard, and emphasized the potential distraction LED light messaging could present to drivers.

“I’m sure all of you have gone over the bridge before and come from Middletown into Red Bank, where you go over and you have to make that left-hand turn,” Wilson told the board. “I want you to do it again before you take the vote."

“Go over the bridge again, but get in that middle lane to make the left,” Wilson continued. “You got to watch yourself — if you don’t watch yourself you’re going to have a traffic accident. If you put this sign in, I’m telling you right now, you’re going to have blood on your hands.”

Board Response
Following presentations from the applicant and the public comment portion of the meeting, the board held two votes.

The first determined if a D-1 Variance (which departs from zoning requirements to permit a structure that’s normally restricted) was necessary for the proposal. The second was a vote to approve or deny the billboard application.

While the board did vote that a D-1 Variance would be necessary, they ultimately chose to deny the billboard proposal in a unanimous vote.

“We’ve heard from residents and Red Bank business owners, some of their concerns on what impact it [the billboard] may have on our historic town,” Board Chairman Raymond Mass said. “We’ve heard that there’s a lot of traffic concerns there — I have them myself…I can’t imagine that a sign changing every seven seconds there isn’t going to distract some people.”

To watch the full Zoning Board meeting, you can click here.

Related:

• LED Billboard Proposal Set To Return To Red Bank Zoning Board