Planning Commission denies Take 5 Battlefield billboard permit, citing Greenbrier gateway concerns
March 11, 2026 | Chesapeake City (Independent City), Virginia
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The Chesapeake Planning Commission on March 11 denied a conditional use permit to install a replacement billboard at 1440 Battlefield Boulevard North, voting 6–3 in favor of staff’s recommendation to deny.
Adams Outdoor Advertising and counsel Steve Romine argued the application is a replacement for lost billboard sites and that the company had exhausted other options. Romine said the industry has lost sites to development and right‑of‑way changes and that the new structure would help local businesses and provide a platform for emergency alerts. "We're just maintaining. We're not adding or expanding to what you already have in the city of Chesapeake," Romine said.
Staff recommended denial, saying the proposed billboard with reduced setbacks and large sign area would be incompatible with adjacent uses and would undermine the Greenbrier area plan’s gateway design. Staff told the commission the sign could be detrimental to the visual environment and the property’s economic viability under its current use.
Commissioners questioned the proposed sign size (the applicant described the face as about 378 square feet, significantly larger than typical freestanding sign allowances), the proposed reduction in distance to residential property and reliance on tree screening year‑round. The applicant offered to limit LED messaging to one face and to make the reverse face static to reduce nighttime impacts; that proposal was not added as a formal condition by staff.
After public testimony and commissioner questions, a motion to deny based on the staff report passed by a roll call vote of 6 to 3. The record shows the motion carried with six commissioners supporting denial and three opposed; the staff report served as the basis for the motion.
The commission’s action was procedural guidance to the applicant and, if appealed or revised, any future replacement application would still require applicable state permits and local approvals.
Adams Outdoor Advertising and counsel Steve Romine argued the application is a replacement for lost billboard sites and that the company had exhausted other options. Romine said the industry has lost sites to development and right‑of‑way changes and that the new structure would help local businesses and provide a platform for emergency alerts. "We're just maintaining. We're not adding or expanding to what you already have in the city of Chesapeake," Romine said.
Staff recommended denial, saying the proposed billboard with reduced setbacks and large sign area would be incompatible with adjacent uses and would undermine the Greenbrier area plan’s gateway design. Staff told the commission the sign could be detrimental to the visual environment and the property’s economic viability under its current use.
Commissioners questioned the proposed sign size (the applicant described the face as about 378 square feet, significantly larger than typical freestanding sign allowances), the proposed reduction in distance to residential property and reliance on tree screening year‑round. The applicant offered to limit LED messaging to one face and to make the reverse face static to reduce nighttime impacts; that proposal was not added as a formal condition by staff.
After public testimony and commissioner questions, a motion to deny based on the staff report passed by a roll call vote of 6 to 3. The record shows the motion carried with six commissioners supporting denial and three opposed; the staff report served as the basis for the motion.
The commission’s action was procedural guidance to the applicant and, if appealed or revised, any future replacement application would still require applicable state permits and local approvals.
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