PHILADELPHIA – After months of discussions with stakeholders, the City of Philadelphia has reached an agreement with the Franklin Institute that allows the Institute to convert an existing sign on its property to digital.
Under the terms of the settlement, the City will drop opposition to the sign. In return:
- The Franklin Institute will limit the brightness of the sign in consultation with the Commissioner of L&I following installation;
- The sign will be equipped with an “automatic light sensor” to adjust the illumination of the sign when in operation;
- The message on the sign will not change more frequently than every 30 seconds;
- There will be no strobe lights, flashing messages, flashing images or scrolling messages;
- The sign will be turned off between 10:00 p.m. each night and 6:00 a.m. the following morning;
- The content of the sign will be limited to programs, exhibits, features, and activities of the Franklin Institute
“This agreement in no way means there will be more electronic signage on the Parkway,” said Managing Director Michael DiBerardinis. “The arrangement protects the Parkway and doesn’t turn it into the Las Vegas Strip. More importantly, the City has formulated new regulations to prohibit such signage elsewhere on the Parkway going forward.”
The agreement settles a dispute over the Institute’s right to proceed with the digital conversion that began in 2012. The City opted to pursue a negotiated settlement after the Institute received a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment which was later upheld in court proceedings.