Jenna Panepinto, real estate manager for Outfront Media, made the pitch for a digital billboard at 512 Amherst St. during the Sept. 26 meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Courtesy photo/Nashua Community Television

NASHUA – The Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously during its Sept. 26 meeting to deny the proposal from Outfront Media to convert the existing billboard at 512 Amherst St. into digital signage.

Going into the meeting, Outfront needed four variances in order to move forward with the project. The first variance was to allow a digital billboard in a general business zone. The second variance was to allow a digital billboard that would be more than 50 percent larger than the size of the sign. The third variance was to allow advertisements with more than three lines of text. The fourth variance was to allow a digital billboard that was 378 square feet, thus exceeding the maximum allowable size by 128 square feet.

Prior to the vote, Jenna Panepinto, real estate manager for Outfront, said the billboard has been at the Amherst Street property since 1996.

“We feel we have an opportunity to improve it on a number of levels,” she said.

Panepinto said the existing sign has three LED bulbs on each side which are on all the time and create a significant glare. Therefore, she said Outfront would remedy that problem by installing new LED fixtures that adjust to ambient light.

She also explained how the advertising displays would operate.

“Each advertisement will last 10 seconds and will change instantly, there’s no flashing, no animation,” said Panepinto, adding that the 10-second intervals are typical for digital billboards.

She said the newer billboards allow for multiple messages to be displayed at once, making them attractive and cost-effective for small businesses.

Panepinto said Outfront currently works with the city’s Health Department, Nashua Community College, Millyard Bank and St. Joseph Hospital.

“Seventy percent of the Outfront business in New Hampshire is local,” she said.

In response, board member Steven Lionel took issue with the variance to allow more than three lines of text.

“If businesses want those then they should petition the Board of Aldermen to change the ordinances,” he said. “The ordinances are very clear about what the rules are.”

He also said the request for four variances was a “big ask.”

“It’s not just a small stretch of the ordinance, it’s a very big stretch,” said Lionel.

Board member Joshua Nehiley called attention to the potential for distracted driving.

“I find electronic billboards very distracting,” he said, adding that Amherst Street intersects with Dumaine Avenue and State Street at that location.

“I drive this road six days a week, there’s quite a bit of traffic,” said Nehiley. “Folks are cutting lanes especially as they get ready to turn onto Dumaine or State. Every 10 seconds, like it or not, human nature is going to want to see what the next slide is going to be.”

In addition, Nehiley said the light from the billboard would shine into the homes that abut the property.

“It is not consistent with what we have in Nashua,” he said.