City wins in digital billboard bout

A Superior Court judge has sided with the Metropolitan Development Commission in a dispute over digital billboards. Outdoor advertising giant Lamar had sought a summary judgment so it could proceed with plans for two electronic billboards along East 46th Street near I-465 in Lawrence. A zoning board in Lawrence gave its approval for the signs, but opponents appealed to the MDC, which agreed to hear the case. That’s when Lamar filed a lawsuit challenging the MDC’s authority to potentially overturn its approvals. Marion County Superior Court Judge Theodore M. Sosin last week ruled that MDC indeed has the “ultimate administrative decision in cases that raise a substantial question of zoning policy.” Marion County ordinances specifically ban advertising signs that display video or graphics. An MDC hearing on the Lawrence signs is scheduled for Sept. 16. The MDC last year overturned a zoning board approval for a digital billboard near Keystone at the Crossing, also for Lamar. More about that decision is here.