Newtown Billboards Hearing Canceled (Again)

The hearing involving the Bartkowski Investment Group's application for billboards in Newtown Township was canceled again.

The postponements continue regarding the Bartkowski Investment Group's (BIG) proposal to erect three aerial billboards in Newtown Township. The application was continued at the township's February Zoning Hearing Board meeting. It was unclear whether a new date for the hearing has been set. The billboard hearing has been canceled and rescheduled several times. The last time billboards were discussed in the township was in March 2012 when Thaddeus Bartkowski III, owner of BIG, made a settlement proposal presentation to the supervisors and residents. Instead of erecting three aerial billboards, Bartkowski proposed a digital billboard on the border of Newtown and Edgmont townships on West Chester Pike. The three aerial billboards are proposed …

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Molly

12:33 am on Friday, April 12, 2013

Keep fighting, they all hope you will not show up   more ›

Newtown Billboards Hearing Canceled For Thursday

The hearing involving the Bartkowski Investment Group's application for billboards in Newtown Township has been rescheduled for January 2013.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–After a number of postponements, the hearing for Bartkowski Investment Group's (BIG) proposal to erect three aerial billboards in Newtown Township has been, once again, postponed from Thursday night's Zoning Hearing Board meeting. The hearing–which was originally scheduled to take place earlier this summer and has been rescheduled a handful of times since then–will now be rescheduled for Jan. 17, 2013, at 7 p.m. BIG and the township are now trying to continue where the issue last left off. The last time billboards were discussed in the township was in March when Thaddeus Bartkowski III, owner of BIG, made a settlement proposal presentation to the supervisors and residents. Instead of erecting three aerial billboards, …

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Status of Marple Billboards Case Against BIG

Jim Byrne, the attorney representing Marple Township in the billboards case against Bartkowski Investment Group, provided an update about the status of the case at Monday night's commissioners meeting.

BROOMALL–Filling in for Marple Township Solicitor Adam Matlawski at Monday night's commissioners meeting was Jim Byrne–who also represents Marple and Newtown townships in the billboard case against Bartkowski Investment Group (BIG). Byrne said unlike many other townships, Marple has already been to the Commonwealth Court with BIG on the billboards case. The latest decision on the case came back in favor with the township. "Now we're back in the Common Pleas Court on a declaratory judgment action that was filed by the BIG company and there's going to be a trial on that–it's a non-jury trial and the trial probably won't take that long on that case," said Byrne. The trial date has been scheduled for Aug. 6th at the Court of Common Pleas. The …

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BIG's Alternate Billboard Proposal in Newtown 'Off The Table'

Newtown Township Manager Mike Trio confirmed that Bartkowski Investment Group's alternate digital billboard proposal to the township is now off the table.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–The deal is off the table, confirmed Newtown Township Manager Mike Trio over the phone last week. The deal Trio is referring to is the latest proposal made by Bartkowski Investment Group (BIG) about erecting a digital billboard on the border of Newtown and Edgmont townships on West Chester Pike, instead of the original three aerial billboards proposed at Meineke, Newtown Beer & Soda and Weinrich's Bakery. "The latest proposal doesn't seem like it's happening," said Trio about BIG's digital billboard proposal. "It's a dead deal." Since their special presentation last month at the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors meeting, BIG's alternate proposal has not moved forward. "We haven't heard anything else or gotten any …

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News Next Door

Judge Denies BIG's Billboard Appeal in Springfield

A Court of Common Pleas judge upholds the zoning board's decision to deny billboards.

MEDIA–Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Chad F. Kenney affirmed March 30 the Springfield Township Zoning Hearing Board's decision to deny billboards based on evidence they would pose a threat to “public health, safety, morality and welfare.” Bartkowski Investment Group (BIG) filed an appeal last April to Springfield Zoning Board's March 2011 decision, which denied a request to erect six 672 square-foot double-sided billboards along a 1.3-mile stretch of Baltimore Pike. BIG challenged the township-wide prohibition of billboards arguing that it is unconstitutional and invalid because it is a blanket exclusion. Read the full story on Springfield Patch here. BIG's billboard case with Marple Township is currently in court while …

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Letters to the Editor

An Electronic Billboard for Newtown Square? More Flash Than You Might Expect

Terri McCarthy, a Newtown Square resident, writes a Letter to the Editor about the billboard issue in town.

While Mr. [Thaddeus] Bartkowski touted electronic billboards as a means to disseminate civic messages and emergency notices [at Monday night's supervisors meeting], he did seem to concur that the software behind those displays is possible to hack and potentially not within his firm's control.   This has already happened elsewhere. For example, in January 2010, a 27-foot by 18-foot electronic billboard was hijacked in downtown Moscow, Russia. For two minutes, a pornographic video flashed on one of Moscow's busiest roads. This posed a substantial traffic hazard. The culprit was eventually caught, but the technical capabilities of hackers are well known to anyone who owns a computer that has been infected with malware. Technology changes so …

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Letters to the Editor

Billboard Tycoon Wants to Sneak a Billboard in Your Backyard

Ken Rimple, a Newtown Square resident, writes a letter to the editor on the billboard issue in town.

This week, Thaddeus Bartkowski III, flanked by laywers and business partners in his entourage, presented an alternative to the three pending non-electronic billboards in our township. As you'll see, I feel this is both a master stroke by Bartkowski and a very bad idea. According to Mr. Bartkowski, our township is likely to spend over $400K fighting him in our Zoning Board meetings. Conveniently, he's here to help. He is offering to make a smaller, fully electronic billboard, and place it near the edge of our township on Route 3, across from the Subaru dealership. His plan? Pay off our legal fees by purchasing an easement on the property for $400,000 for a period of at least 10 years. The township will get half of the money ($200K) right …

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BIG Proposes 3 For 1 Billboard Deal in Newtown

Instead of three monopole, stagnant billboards along West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, Thaddeus Bartkowski proposes one digital, ground-mounted billboard display on Hatches Lane and West Chester Pike just before Edgmont Township.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–A large crowd of residents showed up at Monday night's Board of Supervisors meeting for the particular alternative billboard proposal presentation made by Thaddeus Bartkowski III, owner of Bartkowski Investment Group (BIG) and Catalyst Outdoor Advertising. Bartkowski's alternative proposal includes: trading out the three aerial billboards–measured at approximately 60 feet high–along West Chester Pike/Rt. 3 (at the locations of Meineke, Newtown Beer & Soda and Weinrich's Bakery) that are currently before the Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board for one digital display that is mounted to the ground. BIG Offers Another Game Plan for Newtown "There has been a demand for outdoor advertising along the Rt. 3 corridor throughout …

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BIG to Propose Alternate Plan For Newtown Billboards at Monday Night's Supervisors Meeting

Thaddeus Bartkowski III, owner of Bartkowski Investment Group and Cataylst Outdoor Advertising, has requested to make a settlement proposal on Monday, March 12, at the Board of Supervisors meeting.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–A letter dated on March 7 was sent out to all parties formally protesting Bartkowski Investment Group's (BIG) proposal of the three billboards to be erected along West Chester Pike/Rt. 3 in Newtown Square. The letter states that a representative from BIG will make a settlement proposal presentation to the validity challenge on the three billboards in Newtown on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at the township municipal building. According to Preserve Our Pennsylvania Towns–a coalition comprised of Haverford, Marple, Newtown, and Springfield township residents with the purpose of preserving the aesthetic beauty of public spaces within the suburban communities particularly focusing on the billboards issue in each township–Thaddeus …

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News Next Door

Haverford Zoning Board Votes No on Billboards

Haverford Township's Zoning Hearing Board ruled 5-0 against BIG's billboards in the township, but BIG plans to appeal the ruling.

HAVERTOWN–During last Thursday night's meeting, the Haverford Township Zoning Hearing Board voted 5-0 against the billboard proposal. Bartkowski Investment Group’s (BIG) wanted to have five 672-square-foot billboards placed in Haverford Township—two of the billboards would be located along Lancaster Avenue in Haverford Township overlooking Bryn Mawr in Lower Merion Township, and three signs along West Chester Pike in Haverford Township. BIG’s challenged that Haverford Township’s no billboard ordinance was unconstitutional and a restriction on free speech. But after a nearly three-year battle with experts and residents giving testimony in front of the zoning hearing board, the board on Thursday night disagreed with BIG's validity challenge …

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