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Rutherford council to revisit billboard rules after board of adjustment approves large Route 17 sign
Summary
Following a board-of-adjustment approval for a commercial billboard on Route 17, council members said borough ordinances are silent on commercial billboards and agreed to craft constitutionally defensible rules addressing size, lighting and conditional-use controls to avoid forcing the board into litigation-prone decisions.
Rutherford — Council members agreed on May 27 to review and update borough ordinance language on commercial billboards after the board of adjustment approved a large sign proposed for the Luke Oil site on Route 17 and lawyers flagged potential First Amendment issues tied to a blanket prohibition.
Council members said the borough code does not explicitly permit commercial billboards in any zone and that the effective blanket prohibition could be legally problematic. Councilman Erico said the board had approved an approximately 60-foot billboard (an applicant had asked for 65 feet) and noted the approval may complicate future applications. Council members and the borough attorney (referenced during prior board discussions) recommended drafting an ordinance that provides clearer standards — potential conditional-use restrictions, height limits and lighting standards — to give the board defensible criteria and to protect neighborhoods from light pollution.
Council members also flagged overlap with the borough's existing commercial lighting ordinance and suggested exploring how lighting regulations might mitigate LED billboard impacts. One member described a large LED billboard across Route 3 that shines into homes in winter as an example of the nuisance concerns the council hopes to address.
Why it matters: Large LED billboards can create light-pollution and visual-impact concerns for nearby residents; ambiguous or blank-slate ordinance language can put land-use boards in a legally exposed position when they must approve or deny applications.
What’s next: Council members said they will work with zoning staff and the board of adjustment attorney to craft ordinance language with measurable standards for size, lighting, siting and conditional uses, and to consider applying existing lighting controls where appropriate.
