Billboard Proposed for University Ave
Updated, Monday, April 5, 2010. The official plot plan for the proposed billboard indicates it will be placed directly in front of the Amtrak parking garage, between Route 128 and the parking structure. The permit applications (links below) indicate the sign will measure 48 feet wide by 14 feet high at a total height of 85 feet above the ground.
This billboard and the accompanying plot plan illustrate the difference a few feet can make in the permitting and review process. The billboard would be placed a few feet from the the Westwood town line, adjacent to the planned Westwood Station. A few miles away, the Town of Norwood considers a request by T-Mobile to erect a 100-foot cell phone tower that will sit in the backyards of some Westwood residents. And, of course, the Canton town line is only a few more hundred feet south. These issues cry out for regional cooperation.
The photo below illustrates the approximate placement of the billboard--right in front of Blue Hills. Additional news coverage of the billboard plan can be found at yourtown/Dedham
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation's Office of Outdoor Advertising will be holding a public meeting on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 11am in conference rooms 5 and 6 on the second floor of the Transportation Building at 10 Park Plaza in Boston, MA to elicit feedback on two permit applications (one monopole) proposed for 699 Blue Hill Drive in Dedham. Although the address is technically in Dedham, this is near the Amtrak parking garage at the intersection of University Ave and Blue Hill Drive. Some readers may recall this small area of land (only accessible from Westwood) was also the proposed site of part of Dedham's Adult Entertainment Zone. It's also, of course, the "gateway" to the future Westwood Station development.
This proposal to erect billboards has come up before...last summer, as the issue was discussed here on WestwoodBlog and at myDedham, Dedham Selectman Paul Reynolds authored a letter to MassHighway opposing the billboard plan. Westwood's Board of Selectmen joined a chorus of local opposition with this letter providing a detailed list of concerns and objections. Now, it appears Clear Channel, the owner of this beautiful billboard at 122 Allied Drive, has submitted a permit application for what appears to be a similar structure.
The MBTA plan was opposed and legislation was introduced to kill it. Then the issue resurfaced a couple of weeks ago but the hearing was postponed. Now it appears it's "game on" again on April 8.
Here are copies of the two permit applications. These do not include all the attachments; those are not public yet.
