PIGEON FORGE — City leaders seem poised to continue allowing billboards in Pigeon Forge to switch to the digital format, with yet another request for that type of move on the agenda for Monday’s City Commission meeting at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall.

The session will mark the second time that Darby Campbell, owner of Premier Media, has appeared before the commission in as many months on questions about billboards. It will also be the second time in just a few months that he’s made a request to upgrade a sign to the new technology.

The move has drawn questions from some city residents and leaders, who fear the lighted signs might create a distraction for motorists and take away from the natural beauty of the area. Among those who have spoken out against the changes are the owners of The Incredible Christmas Place and Commissioner Joyce Brackins.

It seems their worries are not isolated. Municipalities across the country have taken action to restrict or even forbid the signs, despite the insistence of developers that they are no more distracting than regular billboards. Within the last year Knoxville officials moved to ban the signs, though a few had already been put up in that city.

Pigeon Forge officials have discussed their desire to implement some regulations on the signs each time they’ve been approached with the possibility of allowing another one, though they have yet to take action on any such rules. Mayor Keith Whaley has expressed his support for the upgrades, saying he prefers the digital to the traditional boards because the new technology is “cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing.”

Campbell will present the group with a request that he be allowed to change a billboard facing the southbound lanes of the Parkway near the intersection from the trivision format to digital. He is also asking that he be allowed to relocate a board face to a pole in front of the Red Carpet Inn.

Also on the agenda is taking the next step on a request to put up a traffic light at the intersection of the Parkway and Music Road. That will include submitting a letter to the Tennessee Department of Transportation asking that the city be allowed to put up the signal.

During the meeting, the group will also consider:

Ordinance 899 to amend sections of the C-4 Planned Unit Commercial District rules in the Zoning Ordinance (second reading)

Ordinance 900 to rezone property owned by the city on the east side of Veterans Boulevard across from the intersection with Gold Rush Road from R-1 (low-density residential) to C-2 (tourist commercial) (first reading)

Resolution 769 to authorize the city’s participation in the TML Risk Management Pool Driver Safety Matching Grant Program

Purchase of an automatic license plate reader from Motorola on a statewide contract for the Police Department.

dhodges@themountainpress.com

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