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Peabody planning board recommends city council adopt updated billboard rules, bars new billboards
Summary
At its April 16 meeting the Peabody Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend the City Council adopt amendments to Section 11.6 of the zoning ordinance that reinstate and revise billboard rules, add permit terms and fines, and prohibit new billboards.
The Peabody Planning Board on April 16 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council adopt amendments to Section 11.6 of the city zoning ordinance to reintroduce and revise rules governing billboards.
Kurt Bellivance, director of planning and community development for Peabody City, told the board the proposed language restores a billboard section the council eliminated in 2017 and adds specific permit terms and enforcement. Bellivance said the city currently leases billboard space and cited annual lease figures, saying “one for $15,000 per year for static and $25,000 for electrical billboards.” He said the draft ordinance would allow the city to require removal of abandoned billboards after notice — with a 30‑day remedy period and fines up to $300 per day thereafter until the sign is removed.
The amendments were drafted by the city solicitor, Bellivance said, to bring the ordinance into line with existing lease practices and provide clearer protections for the city. The draft divides the section into purpose, applicability, permit terms (including abandonment and enforcement), and prohibitions that would bar construction of additional billboards.
Board members said they had not received the full text in the advertised packet and asked that staff provide the complete language. The board recessed briefly so Bellivance could supply photocopies; members then moved to accept the late handout and enter it into the record.
After receiving the complete language, a member moved to recommend the City Council adopt the zoning change as provided in the handout; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call vote with Joseph Gagnan, Tom French, Dr. Judith Otto, John Ford, Jeff Celiva, Dennis Feld and Chairman Thomas Bettincourt all voting yes. No members of the public spoke in favor of or in opposition to the billboard amendment during the hearing.
The recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for its consideration under the city’s ordinance adoption procedures.
