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Board denies Robinson Outdoor request to erect large digital billboard near Market Street
Summary
The Logansport Board of Zoning Appeals denied a variance request from Robinson Outdoor LLC to install a 288-square-foot digital off-premise billboard at a Market Street site after staff noted zoning conflicts and residents raised traffic-safety and character concerns.
The Logansport Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday denied a petition from Robinson Outdoor LLC to install a 12-by-24-foot (288-square-foot) digital off-premise billboard near Market Street.
Planning staff told the board the property’s zoning and size limit allowable signage to roughly 23 square feet on the first site reviewed; the company’s proposal required multiple variances for area, height and separation distances from other freestanding signs and sensitive uses. Staff also recommended conditions including static displays and a maximum rotation of 8 seconds in line with typical INDOT guidance.
Danny Miller, representing Robinson Outdoor, told the board his company offers a “community benefits package” that includes automatic National Weather Service alerts, Amber Alert and fugitive notices, 24/7 monitoring and pro bono advertising time for local nonprofits and municipal alerts. Miller said the company designs displays to face roadways and uses automatic dimming to reduce nighttime glare.
Residents urged the board to deny the variance. Paul Wolham said studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show digital billboards increase gaze duration and crash risk, particularly among younger drivers near the nearby high school. David Herman and other speakers argued the applicants had sought a use variance for a site not zoned for billboards and said state law bars granting a use variance for a self-induced hardship.
Board members reviewed staff conditions and commitments, then took a roll-call vote. The record shows members voted (Nelson: No; Mimi Runnels: No; Hal: Yes; Eberhart: No), and the chair announced that BZA case 26-06 was denied. The zoning administrator will send written notice of the decision; the petitioner and interested parties have 30 days to appeal to circuit court.
The board’s decision leaves in place the city’s existing limits on off-premise signs outside the Logansport Gateway District and affirms staff guidance about setbacks, separation distances and lighting controls for electronic displays.
