Decision to Install Billboard Near I-575 Delayed

A request to install a billboard near Interstate 575 in Woodstock has been put off for another month.

The Woodstock City Council unanimously tabled a request by Tinsley Postiglione to install a billboard on 3.49 acres on Rope Mill Road, adjacent to right-of-way along I-575. The council tabled the request for 21 days.

The application for the sign permit was denied by city staff based on the property's zoning and a deed restriction placed on the property that prohibits it from being used for billboards. 

The current zoning of the property, light industrial with technology park overlay, prohibits the installation of billboards within 500 feet of a residential parcel. The city's code allows for residential development in the overlay zoning. 

The property was owned by the city and transferred to its current owners earlier this year. 

The applicant appealed to the City Council on Monday to overturn staff's decision. 

Adam Webb, attorney for the applicant, said the city's denial was "inappropriate." Despite the city having a "challenging" sign ordinance, he noted his client David Tinsley chose a "compliant" site only to have his application denied.

"I thought I’d done viable research and had all the places covered," Tinsley added, referring to the process of selecting a site to install the billboard and applying to obtain the permit. 

The question on whether the city should approve the request received a resounding no on the Woodstock-Towne Lake Facebook Page. Several users expressed their distaste with billboards.

"I hate the one at Highway 92 and Trickum (Road)," said Ben Porterfield. 

One resident, Jeanna Weot, said she "hates" billboards and noted she and her neighbors tried to fight the installation of a billboard on Eagle Drive near Zaxby's a few years ago.  

The company who originally requested to install the billboard filed suit and "won on a technicality." 

Melynda Barrett noted billboards can look "trashy," adding "commercialization" should stay on Interstate 75 and not introduced to I-575. Billboards are not the way to promote growth, she added. 

"It's bad enough looking at the billboard when you come up to (the) Highway 92 exit on 575," she added." 

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