New Billboard Pops Up in Alpharetta

Alpharetta residents who regularly travel along State Bridge Road on the east side of the city will notice a new structure that is now part of the highway’s landscape.

A new billboard is under construction along State Bridge Road — also known as Old Milton Parkway — west of its intersection with Kimball Bridge Road, which is a stone’s throw from the Johns Creek city limits.

Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard said the billboard is a “result of a situation” that dates back to 2003 when formerly unincorporated areas of the city were under the jurisdiction of Fulton County.

The county’s ordinance had been declared unconstitutional by a court, which Drinkard said “opened the door for the outdoor advertising industry to file a large number or permit applications for the erection of billboards throughout the county.”

In 2011, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled against the cities of Sandy Springs, Milton and Johns Creek as they sought to regulate billboard on the areas that had since been annexed into their jurisdictions.

Drinkard stated the court’s reasoning was “that even though these areas are now within the borders of incorporated cities, the billboards should have been permitted before the areas were incorporated and so must be allowed.”

“Thus, the billboards are actually permitted by the county rather than by the cities,” he added.

The ruling impacts two billboard applications that were submitted to Alpharetta. Along with the structure on State Bridge Road, another billboard is set to go up along the southern end of Highway 9.

Rosemary Taylor, a spokesperson with the city of Johns Creek, added the city does not have any billboard applications pending at this time. She did note the city is in “discussions with the billboard companies on this issue at this time.”

For Sandy Springs, the ruling applies to eight billboards and 10 areas in the city where the signs may be located, spokesperson Sharon Kraun stated.

In Alpharetta, Drinkard said the city has received “numerous” complaints and members of the City Council have been “flooded” with complaints from residents.

Some residents expressed frustration with the billboard on the city’s Facebook page, labeling it an eyesore and called for boycotting companies who advertise on the structure.

“This makes me sad,” wrote resident Rajshel Juhan. ”I really liked the fact that our city did not have a bunch of billboards sticking out of every open space in town.”

Tell us: what do you think about the new billboard?

(Photo credit: Keith Davis)