Battle Royale Over Billboard to Play Out in Court

The fight between the city and an entertainment company over a Lowell Street billboard resumes in court Tuesday afternoon.

City officials contend that the 92-foot pole and billboard installed by Total Outdoor Corp. at 532 Lowell St. were placed in the wrong spot (attached to the side of the building) and should be relocated to the rear of the property.

Total Outdoor Corp. argues there was a mix-up in the plans submitted in court last summer and the intention was always to place the billboard where it is now. Plus, it would cost $200,000-$250,000 to move it.

City officials argue the pole was not even installed at the right spot according to the original set of plans that placed it adjacent to the building, and regardless, that first draft was not what a judge ruled on in overturning the City Council's denial of the permit.

The city has issued two cease and desist orders over the matter and it appears neither side is willing to budge.

A hearing, which is open to the public, is scheduled for March 5 at 2 p.m. in Salem Superior Court, Courtroom J, with Judge Howard Whitehead.

City Council President Tom Gould, who is keeping a close eye on the matter, told fellow councilors Thursday that attorneys from both sides had planned to meet to discuss the issue again.

"It was a futile attempt to meet and try to come to any sort of agreement to move it [the billboard]," said Gould, noting strong opposition coming from residents at the Ledgewood Way condo complex.

"They’re arguing that it's affecting their quality of life and I couldn’t agree more," Gould said.

Ledgewood Way residents, who live off of the other side of Lowell Street, have circulated a petition along with letters, emails and phone calls to councilors and the mayor's office, complaining that the visual "monstrosity" is affecting their property values as well.

In response to the first stop work order two months ago, the company filed a motion in court to correct a "clerical mistake" in the record, to which Smerczynski filed an objection, saying the relief sought was not merely of a clerical nature, but a substantive change based on "inaccurate facts" submitted in court.

Smerczynski quotes from documents submitted by the company's attorney at the time upon which Judge Whitehead made his ruling last year, language that unambiguously states the pole would be located behind the building.

The attorney had said the sign structure would only be visible from the highway and "not apparent to a driver traveling on Lowell Street," according to Smerczynski.

"The sign itself would only be visible if someone deliberately craned their neck out the window to look for it," he quoted.

As it is today, drivers on Lowell Street need only look up to see the billboard and monopole towering above them.

Smerczynski said there's also a corresponding site plan on file in court that shows the pole behind the building. He argues the "corrected" version of the plans Total Outdoor wants to submit now still contains a discrepancy of about 40 feet on the location of the pole and where it was installed.

The city is arguing for the company's motion to be dismissed and for the pole to be moved.