My Jersey Central reports that American Outdoor Advertising has filed suit against the Edison Zoning Board of Adjustment for denying a proposal to build a 100-foot digital billboard facing drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike.

American Outdoor presented plans over four Zoning Board meetings from September 2022 to February 2023 to build a V-shaped digital billboard. Billboards are a conditional use in the zone and must be one-sided, 15 feet high, 250 square feet and not within 2,500 feet of another sign. The sign was designed to face the highway and away from the nearby residential neighborhood. The billboard company, however, sought bulk and use variances to build a 100-foot-tall sign that measured 672 square feet, as well as variances for front yard and side yard setbacks. Plans called for the billboard to face northbound and southbound Turnpike traffic, with real-time messages changing every eight seconds.

In unanimously denying the application the Zoning Board indicated that American failed to meet all the criteria needed to grant variances for the project. At that time the board chairman noted the Zoning Board’s requests, for conditions of making the sign static and one-sided, reducing the height and turning off digital lights at night, were all rejected by the applicant.

American Outdoor says in the lawsuit the Board’s ruling was “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and contrary to the evidence presented in support of it” and is looking to have the Board’s decision overturned.

The Edison Zoning Board has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.

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