Horsham Grants More Billboard Access

Should , officials are ready to tell them where to go.

Precisely, prospects would be directed to County Line Road, Easton Road, or Route 309. Sections of those roadways are the only places in the 17-square-mile township that billboards are permitted under an ordinance that the township council unanimously adopted Monday night.

Township planner E. Van Rieker said the thought in establishing the ordinance was to “make sure Horsham is challenge-proof” in terms of litigious battles that ensue when municipalities do not have regulations in place to provide for billboards.

Prior to Monday’s adoption, the township had provided for signs up to 200 square feet in its I-3 industrial district, mostly along Horsham Road, but officials said they feared that lawsuits could crop up because it might be viewed as not enough space. In addition, the township raised the signs’ maximum height from 12 feet to 25 feet, partly in response to neighboring Montgomery Township, which permits signs up to 50 feet high, Van Rieker said.

The township currently does not have any billboards in place. Should that change, the ordinance requires that signs be at least 700 feet apart along Easton Road and a minimum of 400 feet apart along County Line Road and Route 309, Van Rieker said.

“The corridors that have been selected are isolated from residential communities,” Van Rieker said. “We wanted to reduce the exposure a motorist would have to the billboards.”