Boerne HLC gets training on new sign duties; meeting date will move to second Thursday

City planning staff used the July 7 Historic Landmark Commission meeting to brief commissioners on new responsibilities that bring certain sign reviews and variances to the HLC and to review UDC standards governing certificates of approval and sign variances.

Planner William Willingham explained the transfer of duties from the Design Review Committee to the HLC, outlined the sign types that require HLC review (all digital signs and electronic changeable-copy signs and specified overlay-district signs), and walked commissioners through the five UDC criteria for granting sign variances: unnecessary hardship, uniqueness to the property, not self-imposed, not harmful to adjacent properties, and alignment with the UDC’s intent. Staff cautioned the board to avoid regulating sign content (First Amendment) and to consider precedent and legal defensibility when evaluating wordiness or appearance.

Staff also presented an updated meeting calendar: beginning in August the HLC will move from the first Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to the second Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Staff reminded commissioners that annual ethics training is due by July 31 (or may be notarized and submitted at the August meeting).

Commissioners asked how to evaluate long-term appearance and maintenance, when a sign might require a variance, and how to balance visual character against applicants’ branding. Staff said it will provide exemplars of past approvals and disapprovals when available and recommended using discretion with an eye to legal standards. Appeals of sign-variance decisions go to the Planning & Zoning Commission.