PNE AOA sued Jackson County after the company attempted to file a permit with the N.C. Department of Transportation and was told the county's moratorium prevented a permit being issued.
Prior to this response from the DOT, District Engineer Rick Styles informed sign company representatives that their structure was out of compliance with state regulations because it was built too close to another billboard. DOT said the sign had to either be removed or made to conform.
Once Jackson County adopted its off-premise sign ordinance in November, the PNE AOA sign was again out of compliance, this time with the county's height and square footage requirements.
"It's unfortunate that legal action had to go this far," county Manager Jay Denton said. "The sign company had every opportunity to rectify the situation."
PNE AOA's case against Jackson County also named the DOT. In addition to her decision in favor of Jackson County, Judge Hyatt dismissed this action against the Department of Transportation.
"We still have not received a copy of the order from the court," said Charles McDarris, the Raleigh attorney representing PNE AOA. "But if this is indeed the order, then we will appeal the ruling."
PNE AOA's appeal of the DOT's stop-work order issued Aug. 25, 1999, is pending in Wake County, said Assistant Attorney General Gaines Weaver.
"The position of the DOT is that this is a problem between the sign company and the county," Weaver said. "This case is on hold pending the outcome of the Jackson County litigation. With any amount of luck, DOT is out of it."
Situations concerning illegally-constructed billboards similar to the one in Jackson County have taken up to five years before actual sign removal, said Dale McKeel of Scenic North Carolina.
"Overall, I would say that the billboard company exercised poor judgment in placing a sign of this size near such a small town like Dillsboro," McKeel said. "It's a good thing the county pursued the case, and I'm glad the case came out as it did."
Dillsboro business owner Susan Leveille, one of those who spoke out against the original construction, said she is also pleased by the judge's decision.
"This is a step in the right direction to make sure our area is not spoiled with these monstrosities," Leveille said. "It's a known fact that every visitor to an area doesn't want to be inundated with billboards."
As an example, Leveille told of a couple who recently called to thank her for her advice that they travel the Cherohala Skyway National Scenic Byway in Graham County.
"They said how nice it was to have a stretch of highway without billboards," she said. "That is the kind of thing that our visitor from out of state notices."
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