Judge: Mount Washington banner can stay
City has been fighting to remove the ‘eyesore’
The city has lost a battle to remove the vinyl black and yellow Sprint banner affixed to the former Bayer sign atop Mount Washington.
In a ruling Thursday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Joseph James reversed a decision by the city’s zoning board of adjustment last year that ordered the banner’s removal.
The decision is the latest turn in the contentious fight between the city and Lamar over the iconic billboard, which has sat atop Mount Washington for nearly a century. Mayor Bill Peduto has been one of those fighting to remove the banner, which he has dubbed an eyesore.
Zoning board members ruled last year that the installation of the 7,200-square-foot vinyl static advertising sign as a replacement for a nonconforming 4,500-square-foot electronic sign violated a section of the city zoning code, which states that nonconforming signs “may not be enlarged, added to or replaced by another nonconforming sign or by a nonconforming use or structure.”
They also maintained that Lamar, in taking the unpermitted action of installing the vinyl sign, had abandoned the legal nonconforming right that it had to use the Bayer infrastructure as an electronic advertising sign. The city sought an injunction to remove the banner in response to the zoning board’s decision.
Judge James, however, ruled against the zoning board on both counts. He said the finding regarding the enlargement of the sign was contrary to the definition of “area of sign” in the zoning code. He also concluded that the board, appointed by Mr. Peduto, erred in deciding that Lamar’s use of the sign
constituted abandonment.
“The record supports that the billboard sign has been continuously used for commercial advertising for almost 90 years,” he wrote.
Lamar had insisted that the yellow banner with black letters that proclaimed “Pittsburgh WINS with Black & Yellow” actually addressed city concerns about the appearance of the Bayer sign it covered and protected it from further deterioration. The company has since updated the banner to read “Connecting the City of Champions.”
“We are pleased that the court has recognized our 90year-old vested property rights and the right for us to continue to exist in spite of the anti-billboard political agenda,” Lamar attorney Jonathan Kamin said.
“We’re hopeful that this decision will be a springboard for the city to come back to the table to try to reach a global resolution of our issues.”
With a victory in hand, Mr. Kamin said Lamar has no intention of removing the banner. “We are going to continue to operate it. We’re going to continue to exercise our rights.”
Dan Gilman, Mr. Peduto’s chief of staff, said he had not seen the ruling.