INTRODUCED BY:
Councilor John F. Keenan
CITY OF QUINCY
IN COUNCIL
ORDER NO.
ORDERED:
May 19, 2008
Whereas, a billboard was recently erected on a property in West Quincy at 313 Willard Street;
Whereas, billboards are regulated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Outdoor Advertising Board in conformance
with the provisions of 711 CMR 3.0, and are regulated by the City of Quincy in conformance with the provisions Section 17.32
of the Quincy Municipal Code.
Whereas, 711 CMR 3.07 (6) provides in pertinent part as follows:
(6) No permit shall be granted for a sign within 300 feet of a public park, playground, cemetery, forest, reservation
and or any other scenic or recreational area, regardless of ownership, which is available for public use, or reserved for
the public, for recreation or conservation purposes if within view of the same ad any time of the year.
Whereas,
the billboard is or may be located within three hundred feet of land owned by the City of Quincy
and zoned as open space for conservation and/or recreation;
Whereas,
711 CMR 3.07 (9) provides in pertinent part as follows:
(9) No permit shall
be granted for a sign within a city or town where the sign is not in conformity with applicable and lawful city and town ordinances
and by-laws. No such ordinance or by-law shall be deemed inconsistent with 711 CMR 3.00 on the ground that such ordinance
or by-law prohibits the location or maintaining of a sign which in the absence of said ordinance or by-law would be in conformity
with 711 CMR 3.00.
Whereas, Section 17.32.030 of the Quincy Municipal Codes provides in pertinent part as follows:
A. The
following signs are prohibited:
5. Prohibited
signs by type include:
e. Off-premises
sign;
Whereas, an “Off-premises
sign” under Section 17.32.010 is defined as a “sign which advertises or announces a use conducted or goods provided
that are available elsewhere than within the building or on the lot on which the sign is located,” and includes billboards;
Whereas, despite Sections 711 CMR 3.07(6) and 711 CMR 3.07 (9), the Massachusetts
Outdoor Advertising Board permitted the erection of the billboard; and
Whereas, despite Section 17.32.030
of the Quincy Municipal Code, which prohibits off-premises signs, the Quincy Zoning Board of Appeals granted an application
for a permit for the sign;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Quincy City Solicitor’s Office review all applicable
statutes, regulations and ordinances relative to the granting of the permit for the billboard at 313 Willard Street and report
to the City Council at its next regularly scheduled meeting as to whether the permits allowing the erection of the billboard
were issued in compliance with said statutes, regulations and ordinances.
YEAS Coughlin, Davis, Finn, Gutro,
Keenan, Kelly, McFarland, McNamee, Raymondi
NAYS Coughlin, Davis, Finn, Gutro,
Keenan, Kelly, McFarland, McNamee, Raymondi
