Politics & Government

Peabody Still Awaiting Billboard Company's Next Legal Move

In a battle lasting almost two years, the issue of Total Outdoor Corp.'s 92-foot billboard on Lowell Street remains stuck in the courts.

The City of Peabody is no closer to resolving the issue of the 92-foot billboard on Lowell Street.

Mayor Ted Bettencourt told the Peabody Weekly News that no hearing date has been scheduled in Peabody’s case against Total Outdoor Corp., which erected a 92-foot billboard next to Subway on Lowell Street last year.

The back-and-forth legal battle has been going on for two years. Most recently, the Peabody City Council denied a permit for the billboard in August 2013 after Total Outdoor Corp., had already built the billboard following a court decision in the company’s favor. The council said the billboard is not appropriate for Lowell Street in its rejection.

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"We all know it’s a major embarrassment to the city of Peabody what’s going on right now," said At-Large Councilor Mike Garabedian in rejecting the permit. "This doesn’t belong on the back on the building, the front, the side. I can see it [the billboard] from Manchester, New Hampshire."

Nearby residents in the Ledgewood condominiums have also spoken out against the billboard and said it is hurting their property values and has “no place in the neighborhood.”

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At the time, Total Outdoor Corp., said it would appeal the City Council’s decision, but Bettencourt said that has not happened yet.

“Our counsel will ask for a hearing this spring,” Bettencourt told the Peabody Weekly News. “We’re looking for a decision from the court so we can move forward one way or another.” 

Here are latest billboard-related articles on Peabody Patch:

Feb. 23, 2014: Do You Support a Billboard Moratorium? 


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