Board denies church�sign variance after staff recommendation

Chair opened the public hearing on a sign variance for a church on East Lincoln Avenue and planning staff recommended denial, saying the proposed replacement would exceed current allowances for churches.

The staff report said churches today are allowed freestanding signs up to 5 feet tall and 36 square feet; the applicant proposed a monument sign that staff said would reach about 6.5 feet in height and about 43 square feet. Staff advised the board that the requested changes required use variances and that denial would not create practical difficulty for continued use of the property.

Todd Lehman of SCIENTech, the sign company, told the board the existing sign face is about 32 square feet and the proposed design keeps the main rectangle at that size while adding a small circular logo element that increases the calculated square footage. Lehman also said the company uses a hinged, locking cover over changeable copy and argued modest additional height helps crews change letters safely in winter when snow and ice can make ground-level access hazardous.

Pastor Ramey, the church pastor, described decades of improvements at the property and said the new sign would allow more characters (needed for their denominational wording), reduce tampering through the locking cover, and improve the East Sidestreetscape. "We've worked 30 years on this place trying to do aboveboard everything," Ramey said, arguing the sign is intended to be a neighborhood improvement.

Board members questioned how square footage is calculated (what area counts, and whether decorative logo elements add virtual square footage), whether hinge placement could be changed to avoid extra height, and whether granting a variance would create an unwanted precedent. One board member said the proposed design was a clear aesthetic improvement but that the incremental square footage increase appeared to arise from a technical calculation; another said the design could be adjusted to meet the code and urged a redesign rather than an exception.

A motion to accept the staff recommendation to deny the requested variances was moved and seconded. The board adopted the staff findings and denied the variance; a member recused themself prior to the vote.

The decision means the church may either redesign the sign to conform to current standards or return to the board with additional information or a revised application.