The Evesham Township Zoning Board met last night to discuss a proposal brought to them to build a landmark electronic sign/structure at the border of the town. The presentation is the result of more than 12 months of meetings with township officials The location of the landmark will be the intersection of Route 70, Old Marlton Pike and Conestoga Road. Currently at the site is a smaller sign welcoming travellers to Evesham.
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| Small Evesham sign currently on the site |
Also at the site is a Speedy Gas, formerly an Exxon Gas Station. There has been a gas station at the location since at least 1961. In addition to selling gas, representatives from the developer made repeated mention that the lot was filled with vehicles in various state of repair. It was noted that the current building is not in conformity with current zoning laws, and the new structure would be. (A previous version of this post said that the underground tanks would be removed. That does not appear to be the case. The site will be subject to remediation, but that won't necessarily include removing tanks unless required by the Department of Environmental Protection.)
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| A lot of vehicles parked on site |
In its place, the applicant is proposing installing a landmark structure. The applicant considers the proposal a structure, not a sign, which becomes important when dealing with the administrative code regarding signs vs structures, and also for tax purposes.
The structure will be triangular in shape contained within a round water structure, with a 5 foot glass dome on top. The soft lighting inside the dome will change colors based on atmospheric pressure. The water structure will contain moving water, which should discourage geese from gathering. The fountain will use collected rainwater, with a domestic water pipe as a backup.
Two of the three triangular sides will contain video screens with advertisements (the third side would just contain the municipal seal). Each advertisement will contain no moving images and no animation. There will be no fade out or fade in of images, but an instantaneous change from one picture to the next after a set time. The applicant proposes changing every 7 seconds, with 5 seconds being NJ minimum required. The township will get one advertisement every 2 minutes to advertise local events and important information, such as public safety info, AMBER alerts, FBI Most Wanted, weather alerts, road closures, local fundraising, sporting events and holiday functions. At one of their displays in another town, the applicant noted that art projects from a 1st Grade art class were displayed, along with local victorious sports teams. They note that 88% of their non municipal ads were from local or regional firms, with other national or non-profits taking up the remainder.
The advertisements would shut off at midnight and resume at 6am. There would be no unauthorized or controversial advertisements and the township could ask for any advertisements to be moved if they felt it was improper. There is a manned 24 hour number should the need arise.
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| Potential advertisers |
Around the structure, more than 17,000 plantings would occur, including 20 flowering trees, 20 evergreen trees, 922 shrubs and 16,000 perennials and grasses. Through contract, the site would be maintained by the applicant. Money would be placed in escrow so if the applicant did not maintain the site, the township could use the escrow money for this purpose.
With all the plantings, the amount of impervious surface would be greatly reduced as the parking lot will be removed. This will improve drainage. In addition, because the curb cuts will be removed, this should also improve traffic flow (although people slowing to look at the ads may have the opposite effect.)
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| Animation showing the final product |
There may be a small loss in tax revenue received from the site. Last year, the site was assessed at $493,000, with $350,000 being land. With the building demolished, there will be a small reduction in revenue from the taxes of the $143,000 structure, though the new construction is being developed as a 'structure', so it will also have an assessed value, though presumably less than $143,000.
The proposal was approved by a 7-0 vote. It was noted that there were additional approvals needed, from the DEP, DOT and the Cherry Hill Zoning Board. While the gas station is entirely within Marlton, the grassy property next door is partially in Cherry Hill. The Pennsauken Creek which separates Cherry Hill from Marlton runs under the property.
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| Dotted line shows Cherry Hill/Marlton border. The waterway was diverted underground crossing Route 70 and Old Marlton Pike. |
While not captured in the depictions of the property, there will be sidewalks on both the Route 70 and the Old Marlton Pike sides. The sign will have a backup generator attached, so it can continue to inform the public in the event of emergency. There will also be solar panels for electricity generation for the sign.
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