HAVERFORD TWP. — A contingent of about two dozen local residents and community activists recently attended a public hearing in Harrisburg on two proposed bills concerned with regulating billboards.

The group made the long journey on March 16 to hear testimony presented before the Local Government Committee on state Rep. William Adolph’s (R-165) House Bill 2085 and State Rep. Bernie O'Neill’s (R-Bucks) House Bill 1237.

Referred last November, Adolph’s bill would prohibit the location of advertising signs within 500 feet of an existing school, public playground, public park, residential housing area, child care facility, church, meetinghouse or other place of religious worship, or state-designated highway.

However, local governing bodies could by majority vote bypass the restriction and allow advertising signs in these areas, providing they hold one or more public hearings within 14 days and notify landowners within 500 feet of the signs.

Referred to committee April 2009, O'Neill’s bill would create the Highway Corridor Enhancement Act. It would allow municipalities to acquire highway corridor conservation easements and implement highway corridor overlay districts, thereby increasing the municipality’s ability to regulate billboards along highway corridors.

The bill’s stated goals are to “provide municipalities with alternative means to retain or protect, for the public and economic benefit, the natural, historical, architectural, archaeological, cultural, scenic or open space values of real property along public highway corridors.”

When contacted last Friday, Adolph said he believes legislation is necessary because of recent billboard controversies in towns throughout Delaware County, where companies like Bartkowski Investment Group, Inc. are challenging local ordinances and attempting to install billboards.

“The proposals this company (BIG) has made would jeopardize the communities’ local ordinances,” while the proposed sign locations “would present hazards to motorists and pedestrians,” Adolph said.

BIG wants to install the 672 square foot, double-sided, illuminated signs, 51-77 feet tall at 1157, 1330 and 2040 West Chester Pike and 600 and 658 Lancaster Ave. in Haverford Township.

Additional billboards are proposed in Marple, Newtown Square, Springfield and Morton.

"Billboards by nature try to get motorists' attention," said Adolph. Due to congestion in these areas, such distractions present a public safety hazard, he added.

Adolph said he supports O'Neill's legislation and would be happy with either.

BIG representatives were not in attendance.

George T. Merovich, president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Pennsylvania, testified against the bills.

Merovich maintained the outdoor advertising industry, already subject to federal, state and local regulations, was being "singled out" and "discriminated against."

House Bill 2085 would "add a fourth level of regulation to advertising signs…the only so regulated land use in the Commonwealth," Merovich said.

Additionally, municipalities already have ability to regulate advertising signs, Merovich said.

Merovich highlighted positive points about billboard companies in OAAP, which include Clear Channel, CBS and Lamar. These companies spend more than $74.4 million annually on payrolls, property taxes, permit fees, leases and vendor purchases in their local communities.

They also donate more than $18.6 million annually in advertising space to many public service entities and governmental agencies, including the Amber Alert program and FBI, Merovich said.

Contacted last week, Local Government Committee Chair Robert Freeman deemed the hearing "very productive."

"The committee got a good understanding of the problem," said Freeman.

"A number of provisions should guide placement of billboards. Health and safety should be key criteria. You can make a very strong case that having too many billboards within too tight a proximity is distracting, especially newer billboards which change their electronic message on a regular basis."

"Billboard companies' challenge to local sign ordinances is troublesome," Freeman added. "Municipalities have always had legal authority to regulate size, shape and location of signs as part of their zoning code…I think there was a great deal of sympathy for the legislation."

However, the committee will probably focus on O'Neill's bill because "there may be some legal hurdles with an outright ban."

Both William Brinton, an attorney and Scenic America board member, and Elam Herr, Assistant Executive Director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, "made constructive recommendations on how to improve the legislation. We're going to look at those and see if we can draft amendments," said Freeman.

Freeman hopes to bring up the bills for consideration within a month. If approved by a majority no less than 12, the proposed legislation would probably go to the House Appropriations Committee prior to being put to a vote on the House floor.

The bills would go through a similar process in the Senate. If both chambers agree on text, the legislation would go to the governor for signature.

Freeman said he was surprised by the number of citizens who attended the hearing.

"You can tell it's an issue they care deeply about."

Sandi Donato, a Havertown resident with nobillboards.com, said "I'm cautiously optimistic. I think this is a good first step for the state to control billboards."