Dedham and Westwood officials rose in opposition today to a large billboard the cash-strapped MBTA wants to erect in front of the Rte. 128 train station parking garage, arguing that it is “not a suitable location” and violates federal guidelines.
Residents of Whitewood Road in Westwood called the two-sided billboard – which would be 48 feet long and 14 feet high, and stand 85 feet above the ground – an “eyesore” that would ruin their beautiful views of Blue Hills Reservation.
Taking the advice of a lawyer at his side, Edward Farley, the director of the state Office of Outdoor Advertising, said he was tabling the application and taking it under advisement.
Clear Channel Outdoor has applied for two permits for a billboard at 699 Blue Hill Drive in Dedham.
“This location represents a substantial opportunity for the MBTA to collect additional non-fare revenue,” said Mark Boyle, its director of real estate, referring to the transportation authority’s “financial issue.”
“In addition to raising fares, which we are loathe to do, one of the opportunities to help prevent continuing fare increases is to do other sources of non-fare revenue” such as advertising, Boyle said.
The T would get $55,000 a year from the sign, he said.
Orange banners advertising Westwood Station were recently removed from the parking garage. Boyle told Farley his agency is respectfully seeking the permits “to generate the revenue from this location, because we are losing the revenue, obviously, that was derived from the banners that were on the garage. We want to try to replace as much of that revenue so there won’t be any net loss in revenue to the MBTA.”
State Rep. Paul McMurtry, a Democrat who represents Dedham and Westwood, spoke first against the proposal. He said one factor stands out: “This location is in direct sightline of both residents in Dedham and in Westwood.”
“While I certainly can understand and know wholeheartedly the plight of the MBTA and their financial concerns, this is certainly not a suitable location,” McMurtry said. “And I strongly encourage you, with due respect, to deny this application.”
James Fox of Whitewood Road asked “this board” – Farley – to do the same.
“We sit up on a hill just opposite the Blue Hill Reservation. The highway cuts between us. It’s a beautiful view of Blue Hill,” said Fox, an officer of the Whitewood Acres Neighborhood Association, which represents 50 or so homes. “You can’t see the garage, per se. But the height that they’re proposing of this sign is going to lie directly in our viewscape, both of the Blue Hill Reservation and of the Blue Hills.”
Aesthetically, “this is going to be an eyesore if nothing else,” said Eddie Germano of Whitewood Road, who is also a freelance sports cartoonist for CNC publications. “It’s a shame to have this down the end of our street.”
Last year the MBTA planned to build two 40-by-15-foot billboards along Rte. 128 in Dedham, then pulled back after similar vocal opposition from the two neighboring towns.
As Boyle noted, the MBTA is allowed by statute to advertise on its property, and is exempt from local regulations and zoning boards.
“But we must comply with the federal-state memorandum of agreement, and it’s my understanding that everything that Clear Channel has submitted does indeed meet all of those criteria,” he said.
“We believe it meets all the federal requirements,” said John Pelrine of Clear Channel Outdoor.
But Dedham’s town administrator, William Keegan, said the application appears to violate several sections of the 1971 agreement between the federal government and the state concerning the control of outdoor advertising in areas next to interstate highways. Keegan had Building Commissioner Kenneth Cimeno explain “some technical problems with this application.”
Cimeno said the federal agreement says signs should not be located with 300 feet of public parks and scenic areas. The proposed structure is 310 feet from the Neponset River Reservation, barely more than the minimum setback. “You have the authority to have a higher standard,” he argued.
Cimeno added that “the proposed billboard also appears to be within 500 feet of the intersection of University Avenue and Rte. 128. This condition again appears to be in clear violation of the provision that no sign shall be located adjacent to or within 500 feet of an interchange, or intersection.”
Westwood Planning Board Chairman Steven Olanoff said there are really two interchanges in front of the sign – the intersection of Blue Hill Drive and 128, and the interchange where I-95 splits off toward Providence.
He also said billboards are supposed to be in industrial-commercial areas only, but the T’s sign would be in the Westwood Station mixed-use overlay district, which is permitted for retail, offices, residences and hotels.
“Here are two towns, both saying that this is wrong,” Olanoff said. “We do sympathize with the need to the T for money. I’m on the MBTA advisory board. I know the entire situation. But there’s a limit to how far we go here to raise money, and I think this is way beyond that limit.”
Keegan said he was rising in opposition to the billboard, and representing the Dedham selectmen, who are also against it.
After the meeting, held in the state Transportation Building, Keegan reiterated that based on the town’s reading of the 1971 agreement, “there are technical violations that are wrong with this particular application.”
“I hope that Mr. Farley will consider that in his review of this application,” he said. “And then we’ll anxiously await his decision on it.”
Dedham Transcript staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
