Dwayne
08-22-2005, 09:56 PM
Bill Ellis, owner of Bill Ellis Barbecue, has been told by the county Planning Department to take down a billboard on the side of his barn off of Quaker Road near the U.S. 264 Bypass. Now the N.C. Department of Transportation has ordered the same thing.
Ellis had asked at last month's Planning Board meeting for the county ordinance to be changed so he and other business owners can advertise near heavily traveled roads. Planning Board members responded by giving planning staff 60 days to research the current zoning ordinance and possibly recommend amending a county ordinance that prohibits billboard advertising on U.S. 264 Bypass and Interstate 95.
However, on Aug. 15, the DOT sent Ellis a letter pointing out the federal and state regulations on outdoor advertising. The state department also gave Ellis 30 days to remove the sign. If it is not removed at the end of 30 days, DOT will remove the sign at his expense, according to the letter.
Ellis, who could not be reached for comment this morning, could appeal DOT's decision to the secretary of transportation within the 30 days, the letter says.
Ellis has been in violation of the county zoning ordinance since April. Outdoor advertising signs are allowed only in the B-1 (highway business) district, M-1 and M-2 (industrial) districts and the MHD (major highway) district. The sign is in an agriculture/residential zone. Billboards must also meet setback, dimensional and height requirements that Ellis' billboard might not meet.
The Planning Department sent a letter to Ellis May 4, giving him 45 days to take down the advertisement. On Aug. 16, planning staff sent another letter to Ellis saying the Planning Department was still waiting for him to comply by taking down the sign.
Ellis told Planning Board members last month that he had put up a billboard in Kenly advertising Bill's Barbecue that received a lot of response from people traveling along Interstate 95. But once travelers got to the U.S. 264 Bypass exit, they did not know where to go, he said.
Ellis told the Planning Board he might have done things "a little quickly," but that was the way he always did things when it concerned his business. He owned a barn near the bypass and decided to put a sign there to show motorists how to get to his restaurant.
The county's zoning ordinance was last amended in 1997.
Although the U.S. 264 Bypass was not built at that time, the ordinance prohibits billboards on any controlled-access highways, which is a reference to I-95 and U.S. 264.
The ordinance does not prohibit billboards on other major thoroughfares, such as U.S. 301.
Ellis had asked at last month's Planning Board meeting for the county ordinance to be changed so he and other business owners can advertise near heavily traveled roads. Planning Board members responded by giving planning staff 60 days to research the current zoning ordinance and possibly recommend amending a county ordinance that prohibits billboard advertising on U.S. 264 Bypass and Interstate 95.
However, on Aug. 15, the DOT sent Ellis a letter pointing out the federal and state regulations on outdoor advertising. The state department also gave Ellis 30 days to remove the sign. If it is not removed at the end of 30 days, DOT will remove the sign at his expense, according to the letter.
Ellis, who could not be reached for comment this morning, could appeal DOT's decision to the secretary of transportation within the 30 days, the letter says.
Ellis has been in violation of the county zoning ordinance since April. Outdoor advertising signs are allowed only in the B-1 (highway business) district, M-1 and M-2 (industrial) districts and the MHD (major highway) district. The sign is in an agriculture/residential zone. Billboards must also meet setback, dimensional and height requirements that Ellis' billboard might not meet.
The Planning Department sent a letter to Ellis May 4, giving him 45 days to take down the advertisement. On Aug. 16, planning staff sent another letter to Ellis saying the Planning Department was still waiting for him to comply by taking down the sign.
Ellis told Planning Board members last month that he had put up a billboard in Kenly advertising Bill's Barbecue that received a lot of response from people traveling along Interstate 95. But once travelers got to the U.S. 264 Bypass exit, they did not know where to go, he said.
Ellis told the Planning Board he might have done things "a little quickly," but that was the way he always did things when it concerned his business. He owned a barn near the bypass and decided to put a sign there to show motorists how to get to his restaurant.
The county's zoning ordinance was last amended in 1997.
Although the U.S. 264 Bypass was not built at that time, the ordinance prohibits billboards on any controlled-access highways, which is a reference to I-95 and U.S. 264.
The ordinance does not prohibit billboards on other major thoroughfares, such as U.S. 301.