Lamar Advertising pitches digital billboard on US 20; council accepts petition, will convene sign committee and public hearing

Robert Miller, representing Lamar Advertising, presented a petition to the Middlebury Town Council on April 20 for a digital billboard to be located at the Corner of 13 and US 20. Miller described the proposed structure as a smaller, back‑to‑back digital sign (just over 210 square feet per face) that would be capable of displaying Amber Alerts and community messages and which dims at night based on ambient light.

Council members asked detailed questions about brightness, motion, content control and emergency alert integration. Miller said the company operates digitally controlled boards that transition from static ad to static ad (no continuous motion), automatically dim at night and can prioritize emergency messages. Council and staff raised concerns about nighttime glare on the nearby road curve and who would control content, and staff emphasized that a sign committee must review technical compliance with local standards and that a public hearing must be advertised for community comment before any final decision.

Council action: A motion was made and approved to accept the petition submitted by Lamar Advertising. Acceptance of the petition does not constitute final approval; staff said the next steps are to form or appoint the three‑member sign committee (one business representative, one citizen representative and one council representative), allow the committee to review technical compliance, and advertise a public hearing to gather public comment before council would vote on a final permit or permit denial.

Representative quotes: • Robert Miller (Lamar Advertising): "They're actually lighter as far as brightness than a standard billboard with lights on it because it reads the darkness or the light. So at night, it dims down." • Staff (S12) on process: "Town council cannot act as the sign committee... they review the applications for the technical compliance with the standards, and then they put up the report... recommending one way or the other."

Next steps: Staff will advertise a public hearing after forming or identifying a sign committee and the applicant will return to meet with the committee. Any final council action will follow committee recommendation and the public hearing record.