Harrisburg board approves replacement billboard at 833 Paxton Street with LED face, conditions

The Harrisburg Zoning Hearing Board approved an application from Lamar Advertising to replace and slightly relocate an existing double-sided static billboard at 833 Paxton Street and to convert one face to an LED electronic message face.

The board’s chair, Claude Phipps, who was the sole hearing member for the night, approved the application with the planning commission’s conditions. The planning commission had recommended approval provided the applicant obtain Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) approvals, limit electronic message transitions to six per minute, and ensure the relocated support is outside the AE (100‑year) floodplain.

The proposal would convert a double‑faced static billboard to two separate sign structures with about a 25‑foot gap between them. Under the zoning code a gap of up to 5 feet is treated as a single two‑sided billboard; at roughly 25 feet the planning bureau said the proposal requires relief both from the code’s prohibition on electronically changing messages and from the separation‑distance standards. Jeffrey Knight, director of planning for the City of Harrisburg, told the board the project is intended to offset the loss of 18 structures with 30 signage faces along the Interstate 83 corridor caused by a highway‑widening project.

Andy Reebuck, general manager for Lamar Advertising, described the sequencing impact of the PennDOT project on the company’s inventory. “When the project's done, you'll see 4, maybe 6 if we get lucky,” Reebuck said, illustrating the company’s claim that consolidation into digital faces is needed to preserve advertising inventory.

Knight said site plans showed the current sign footprint lies in the 100‑year floodplain and that the proposed relocation “looks like it's out of the flood plain, but it's a little difficult to tell.” He recommended the applicant, if possible, move the proposed footing slightly south to be clearly outside the floodplain for both regulatory conformance and flood‑risk reduction.

The planning commission also recommended the 6‑transitions‑per‑minute limit to match a prior zoning hearing board approval for a similar application at 1500 Paxton Street. The commission’s report and the published hearing notices were entered into the record.

Phipps said he would issue a written decision consistent with the planning commission’s conditions. The board’s action is conditioned on subsequent PennDOT approval and confirmation of the relocated footprint’s floodplain status.

Ending: The board said it would issue a written decision in line with the planning commission conditions; the transcript records the chair approving the request at the hearing and directing staff to prepare the written decision.