New Multi-Neighborhood Group Forms to Fight LED Billboards

I received the following message over the weekend:

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DO YOU WANT "LED" DISPLAY SIGNS

IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?

If not, now is the time to act.

Please help protect Nashville’s neighborhoods against unwanted lighted signs

If a bill coming before the Metro Planning Commission this Thursday afternoon is approved,
all residential neighborhoods in Nashville could be cheapened by the erection of bright, commercial-type,
light-emitting diode (LED) signs, blinking from 6am.until 10pm. every night.

Councilman-At-Large Charlie Tygard is sponsoring Bill #2009-463 that will allow the installation
of electronic LED signs to in residential neighborhoods at specified locations
(schools, churches, social clubs, etc.) at a distance of only 250 feet from nearby homes.

We believe this is totally unacceptable and will have an extremely negative effect
on the beauty and tranquility of the neighborhoods where we live. 

We ask for your support now to stop passage of this bill.  Here are the steps to take:

1. E-mail the Planning Commission today, stating your opposition to Bill #2009-463.  

Make it clear that as a Nashville resident and homeowner, you do not believe LED signs
belong in residential neighborhoods for any reason.

Here’s how to contact all members of the Planning Commission with one email message.
Copy this address and paste in the “To” field: nashville.gov>

PLEASE DO NOT DELAY.  Send a message now! The Commission will be considering approval
or denial on the bill THIS THURSDAY, June 11.

2. Come stand with fellow opponents at 4 p.m. this Thursday, June 11 at the Planning Commission’s
public hearing on this bill.  Speak up and speak out.  Or just come to show your opposition in person. 
If we are successful in persuading the Planning Commission not to rubber-stamp this LED sign ordinance,
it will be a huge step forward in helping defeat it at the Metro Council level next.

If you plan to speak Thursday, your remarks will be limited to two (2) minutes. The Planning Commission asks that people avoid repetition in their remarks.  Look for something you can say to build our case in a unique or relevant fashion.  If possible, let us know what your specific topic of opposition will be, or let us help you find one to focus on.

Note:  The Planning Commission staff is recommending approval of the LED sign ordinance, making it much more likely that the Commissioners will vote to approve. Let’s not take this lying down. The few moments you spend now may win or lose this battle!

3. Join our new Metro-wide neighborhood email and telephone system by asking us to connect you to “Nashville Neighborhoods.”  This is a new Google group designed to link neighborhood association officers, chairs and activists just like you who are dedicated to preserving and nurturing our communities and supporting important causes that affect us all. 

We are forming a telephone and electronic communications system for neighborhood leaders. Please email us and we will help get you connected. Working together, we can let each other know when our voices need to be heard. Sharing information together, we can keep each other updated on issues we need to know about that affect our neighborhoods.

4. Mark your calendar for the date of Tuesday, July 7. This is the date that the Metro Council will hold its second reading on the LED sign bill. We will again ask for your attendance and willingness to speak that evening. If the Planning Commission has approved the bill, then only 21 Council votes will be needed to finalize passage of the LED bill.  If the Planning Commission has disapproved it, then 27 votes will be needed at the Council level to pass.

As a few of the initial organizers, we look forward to working with you long-term in the new “Nashville Neighborhoods” coalition.  Please contact any of the names below, and be sure to include your email address and phone number so we can get back to you and stay in touch.

Sincerely yours,

Burkley Allen (Hillsboro-West End NA)           Trish Bolian (Hillwood NA)

Kip Kirby (West Meade Park NA)                     Bell Lowe Newton (Woodlawn NA)

For More Information:
Trish Bolian                                   352 5476
Bette Horton                                298-5017
Kip Kirby                            <kipkirby@comcast.net>
Nashville Neighborhood               319-9164
Directions to the Planning Commission’s public (but remote) meeting room:
The Commission meets at 1417 Murfreesboro Pike at the very rear of the Genesco complex.
This is best accessed around the corner off McGavock Pike, directly across from an airport
runway. The meeting room is at the rear of a narrow parking lot between two wings of the
building: between the Johnston & Murphy Store and some State Police classrooms. 
Need a Ride?  Let us know!   We will help arrange transportation if we can.

For more information from the Planning Dept.  visit: pdfs/main/GREENHILLSCONFERENCEROOM.pdf> 
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