Opposition to proposed electronic billboard in Milton is growing
Fred Hanson

The Patriot Ledger
 
MILTON –  Opponents are organizing to fight a proposed 47-foot-high electronic billboard along the Southeast Expressway in Milton.

The two-sided billboard would be built next to the John Flatley Co. office building at 2 Granite Ave. along the Neponset River. 

Ned Corcoran, a lawyer representing the company, told the select board on Nov. 17 that because of the elevation of the highway, the billboard would be "essentially invisible" to Milton residents.

Select board Chair Katie Conlon said they have received many emails about the proposal. She said the board plans to discuss it at one of its January meetings.

"There will be public input on this. There will be a public process," Conlon said at the board's Dec. 8 meeting.

She said the town is still gathering information on the proposal and looking into some of the environmental questions that have been raised.

Corcoran told the board that the town could receive an upfront payment "well into the six figures" under a development agreement for the billboard as well as a percentage of annual revenues.

Patrick Kane, a resident of Thistle Avenue, which is in the Milton neighborhood closest to the site of the proposed billboard, has started a change.org petition against the billboard, which, as of Sunday morning, had about 1,500 signatures.

Kane said the billboard would be visible from some homes in the neighborhood and  to drivers on Granite Avenue. He wants to stop the proposal before it goes much further.

"We don't know what impact this will have, but we don't want to take the chance of having it," Kane said.

Also opposed to the billboard is the Neponset River Watershed Association. Kerry Snyder, the group's advocacy director, said the billboard would be in a state-designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern. She said the billboard would harm wildlife in an area that also has many recreational users, including walkers and bicyclists on the Neponset River Trail and  boaters on the river.

"We want to make sure it stays scenic," Snyder said.

The Cedar Grove Civic Association, which  consists of residents on the Dorchester side of the river, called electronic billboards "eyesores" in a letter to town officials.

Steve Bickerton, the president of the association, said the billboard would violate state regulations that prohibit signs within 300 feet of parkland.

"We understand that there may be a small financial benefit to the Town of Milton, but that benefit cannot possibly be worth the permanent harm that would be done by this billboard," Bickerton wrote.