2026-10-21 - Board of Municipal & Zoning Appeals

00:00Okay, um, good afternoon and welcome to

00:04the October 20th

00:061:00 p.m. docket for the Board of

00:08Municipal and Zoning Appeals. My name is

00:10Justin Williams and I'm the interim

00:12executive director of the BMZA.

00:14The board members this afternoon, from

00:16left to right, are Liz Cornish,

00:19David Markosi, Leland Shelton, who is

00:21the board chair, Ryan Hargrave, and

00:23Victor Clark.

00:24We ask everyone in the audience turn off

00:27your cell phones.

00:28If need to speak privately with another

00:30person, we ask you do that in the the

00:31lobby or the hallway. That's because

00:33this hearing is being recorded by a

00:34court reporter who's taking, um,

00:37this recording of this proceeding and

00:39then the also this is being displayed on

00:42Charm TV

00:44and on YouTube. And so the microphones

00:46in the signal pick up your conversation,

00:47so we ask that everyone again, if you

00:49need to have a conversation with

00:50someone, please do that in the lobby or

00:52hallway.

00:53Um, when the

00:55chair calls the case that you're here

00:57for on the docket, we ask that the main

00:59parties move forward, introduce

01:01yourself, and spell your name for the

01:03court reporter, and take an oath before

01:05giving testimony.

01:06I think we said it already, but again,

01:08if you have not already written your

01:09name on the sign-in sheet and intend to

01:11speak on any topic, please do so now. We

01:14ask that everyone planning to speak,

01:15including attorneys,

01:17applicants, those in favor, those

01:18opposed, please sign in.

01:20Um, the board will probably vote on your

01:22appeal today, but that vote is not

01:24final.

01:25By law, we must prepare a written

01:27document called a resolution,

01:29which requires drafting and review after

01:31the board makes the decision. This

01:32process takes several weeks and we will

01:35send it to you by email. If you're the

01:36appellant, you'll be able to access it

01:38through Accela.

01:39Um, there are a few cases that are being

01:40postponed from the docket.

01:42Um, for the record, they are 26

01:46-0030

01:48for 4810 Gunther Avenue,

01:5126-01

01:5443 at 3701 Eastern Avenue.

01:57Case number 26-0144

02:01at 1214 West Lanvale Street.

02:04Case 26-0152

02:07at 612-614

02:09South Wolf Street.

02:1126-0181

02:141429 Aliceanna Street. And then finally

02:17case number 26-0239

02:21at 2517 Woodbrook Avenue. All those

02:23cases have been postponed and whether we

02:25were we set to a new hearing date or we

02:27scheduled to Tuesday, November 17th at

02:302026.

02:32Um nothing further preliminarily, Mr.

02:34Chair, so we're ready to begin.

02:37>> Good afternoon. Call out Now I'm calling

02:38our first case for today. 2642 25 East

02:42Cross Street.

02:43Jokowi Inc. is the applicant. Frank

02:45Shulist is representing the applicant.

02:47The request is to add

02:49live entertainment requiring a

02:50conditional use approval. First, we'll

02:52hear from planning and staff.

02:55>> Good afternoon. Justin Walker, DOP.

02:58Uh case 26-0042

03:00is an appeal for 25 East Cross Street.

03:04Uh which is in the C1 zoning district.

03:06The request is for a conditional use to

03:08add live entertainment to an existing

03:11restaurant.

03:12Uh they have the live entertainment

03:14proposed between 4:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.

03:17Tuesday to Friday and noon to 2:00 a.m.

03:19Saturday and Sunday. Uh this is within a

03:22corridor that is largely entertainment

03:24focused right across from Cross Street

03:25Market. Uh so planning sees no reason

03:28why this would be more impactful at this

03:29location than any other similarly zoned

03:31site. And therefore, for the reasons

03:33outlined in the staff report, we

03:35recommend approval of the appeal.

03:37>> Thank you.

03:38Uh tell us about the project.

03:41>> For the record, Melvin J. Can I ask you

03:43I'm here for Mr. Shulist.

03:45Um he's a little bit older than I am.

03:48But I think I'm a little better looking

03:49than he is.

03:50Um

03:51and um here's for him. is a

03:54area to add uh some entertainment

03:56through uh karaoke, some small groups.

03:59Um they have soundproofing in the area

04:01that they've done in the place. They

04:03have uh security they have on the

04:05weekends um and so forth and uh for them

04:09to uh go in and this was approved once

04:11before in 2022.

04:15Um

04:16it was 2022-277.

04:19Whoever Whoever did the case they didn't

04:21follow up on it to pick up the permits.

04:24So this is basically what they call you

04:25know a do-over in this case here. They

04:28haven't had any problems since there in

04:30that area. Um

04:32and as it mentioned from planning they

04:34do have a lot of entertainment. In fact,

04:36I just did a group where the 8 by 10 was

04:39a group from Philadelphia came in and

04:41they're going to use a a live music

04:43venues there which I think will be good

04:44for that area. Uh there's a couple other

04:46places that have it there for the Macon

04:48firm there's the magic uh does the magic

04:51shows there and so forth. So I think um

04:54what they are proposing here would be um

04:57uh in conformity with what's going on in

04:59the area.

05:04>> Uh what are the proposed hours of

05:05operation of the live entertainment?

05:07>> They were talking they said it would be

05:09uh

05:10in the um

05:11weekdays from uh 4 to 2 and on weekends

05:14to They're not not

05:16including Monday. Monday they wouldn't

05:17have anything but they would be um till

05:20uh starting early on the weekends as

05:22indicated uh to 2:00.

05:25They won't go to 2:00. They'll stop

05:26before 2:00.

05:28>> Any other questions for the applicants?

05:31>> No questions.

05:33>> Stain what here today's

05:34>> For the reading of the application.

05:35>> Make sure your microphone's on.

05:37>> Sorry.

05:38One of the

05:39>> With no application I didn't see the box

05:41checked for uh

05:44for the uh magic act.

05:47>> No no no there's a place down that

05:49street that does magic shows.

05:51I mean, I'm saying they have live

05:53entertainment down the street on Charles

05:54Street. And then people they usually

05:56disappear and that's probably a big part

05:58of their deal.

06:00>> But

06:03I I'm yes.

06:06>> Is there anyone here today here speaking

06:08in opposition to the case?

06:11I'm hearing no opposition and

06:15uh this is this is a location in

06:18the Federal Wheel

06:20uh district.

06:22Uh

06:23I see no reason why adding live

06:24entertainment here to this

06:26adding a live entertainment use to this

06:28location lead to any negative effects

06:30that will go the adverse effects will be

06:31above and beyond what you would expect

06:33with live entertainment anywhere else

06:34within this zoning district and for that

06:36reason I'm a yes for that application.

06:40>> Also yes.

06:41>> Also yes.

06:43>> Also yes.

06:45>> My second yes.

06:46>> Thank you.

06:47>> All right.

06:48>> Thank you. Now I'll disappear.

06:50>> Thank you.

06:51>> Now calling case 26 229 2801 Foster

06:54Avenue.

06:55Chris Nowalk is the applicant. The

06:57request is to use a daycare center

07:00uh

07:01for up to 130 children requiring a

07:04conditional use approval.

07:07Ask that anybody who plans to speak on

07:09behalf of the applicant or in opposition

07:11stand to be sworn.

07:20>> Mhm.

07:21>> Okay, thank you. Do you solemnly swear

07:23or affirm that the testimony you'll be

07:25giving in this matter today will be the

07:26truth, the whole truth, and nothing but

07:27the truth?

07:28>> Yes.

07:28>> Yes.

07:29>> Yes.

07:30>> Thank you.

07:30>> Thank you. First we have a planning.

07:34>> The appeal 260229

07:37request for 2801 Foster Avenue to use

07:41the property as a daycare center for up

07:44to 130 children. The site is owned R8

07:48where daycare centers are a conditional

07:50use.

07:52After reflecting the staff report, we

07:54find no reason that it would be more

07:55impactful at this site than any other

07:56site. It is a large former retail,

07:59believe it used to be a Rite Aid. There

08:01will be a non-conforming medical clinic

08:03that will continue operating on site,

08:05but the daycare will be in the other

08:07portion of the building.

08:08The site does contain its own off-street

08:11parking lot, which will be sufficient

08:13for pickup and drop-off of the children.

08:16The applicant has started the SPRC, the

08:18site plan review process, but has not

08:21received their final approval yet. So,

08:23planning is recommending approval of the

08:25approval of the appeal subject to final

08:27approval by the site plan review

08:29committee.

08:31>> And also for the record in your um

08:34SharePoint site, there's a one letter of

08:36opposition

08:38um from a woman who did not give her

08:40address,

08:41um just raising concerns about uh

08:44traffic, drop-off, and um

08:47uh

08:49what else?

08:51Uh noise and neighborhood character.

08:53>> Thank you.

08:54Uh

08:55Mr. Prattle, tell us about your

08:56uh uh your client's application.

08:58>> Great. Good afternoon. Nate Prattle, I'm

09:01a land use consultant here on behalf of

09:02the Young Horizons School, who's the

09:05operator and purchaser of the property.

09:08I have with me Chris Newwalk and Anil

09:10Cherakuri. Um and I'm going to turn it

09:13over to them in a second, but as stated

09:15by the planning department, Mr. Walker

09:17and Mr. Williams, this is a request for

09:19a conditional use daycare at the site,

09:22you know, it's 2801 Foster Avenue. This

09:24site is particularly large, unusual for

09:27Canton in that you know, it bounds you

09:29know, it's on four rights-of-way. We had

09:31four

09:32you know, different signs posted on each

09:34right-of-way for the required 21 days,

09:36but it's uniquely suited for this use in

09:39terms of its ability to provide, you

09:41know, access, drop-off, outdoor areas.

09:44And before I get into some of the

09:45standards briefly, I'd like to turn it

09:47over to the Young Horizons School team

09:49just so they could briefly you tell you

09:51a little bit about who they are and what

09:52they do.

09:54>> Hi, I'm Christian Nowalk, Gould &

09:56Associates. I work with Young Horizons

09:57School. We are currently operating three

10:00schools, one in Frederick, one in Owings

10:02Mills, Maryland, and the third in White

10:03Marsh. This will be our fourth location.

10:06Uh we're going to occupy approximately

10:0810,000 ft. The whole building's about

10:0914,000 ft. The the uh medical office

10:12occupies 4,000. We'll take the uh

10:15western side of the building if you're

10:17looking at the uh

10:18at the the rooftop there. Um

10:21we'll have the We have a 5,000 sq ft

10:23play area designed. We'll have 130

10:25students in approximately

10:2910 classes. Our ages go from 6 months up

10:33to preschool. Um

10:35we operate 6:30 in the morning till 6:00

10:38at night, 5 days a week.

10:41Uh we're very attracted to this site

10:43because of the the parking lot, right?

10:44Make it easy for the parents to come,

10:46drop their child off, and and move on to

10:48their next appointment or wherever

10:50they're going. So, we're just we're

10:52excited to to uh invest in this uh

10:54neighborhood, and we just we think we

10:56can [snorts and clears throat] uh

10:57we can provide a good service. We're we

10:59we price ourselves slightly lower than

11:01the the Goddards and other pope folks

11:03like that cuz we know that it's

11:05families are struggling. Our model's a

11:07little tighter um than than their model,

11:09and we we try to pay our employees

11:13above that average to to attract the

11:15best possible uh talent to take care of

11:17the children. Any questions?

11:21>> And I'll just provide some support. I'd

11:22ask that the board adopt the the

11:24findings that are found in the planning

11:26department staff report, but just to add

11:28on top of that, there was a really great

11:30uh aerial view that was being shown, and

11:32it really gives a sense of, you know,

11:34this site and, you know, it's, you know,

11:37sort of unique configuration and CO

11:39specifics

11:41um in this dense urban, you know, row

11:43house neighborhood. You know, as large

11:44as you'll find in the city and as we

11:45know it's full of young growing families

11:46who and they this part of what attracted

11:47Young Horizons School to this location.

11:48And as we know it's full of young

11:48growing families who and they this part

11:49of what attracted Young Horizons School

11:50to this location. And as we know it's

11:50full of young growing families who and

11:51they this part of what attracted Young

11:52Horizons School to this location. And as

11:53we know it's full of young growing

11:53families who and they this part of what

11:54attracted Young Horizons School to this

11:55location. And as we know it's full of

11:55young growing families

11:57>> What are some of your plans for managing

11:59uh

11:59traffic circulation in and around the

12:01site, especially during peak hours?

12:05Do you want to address that?

12:06>> could you could you ask I'm sorry.

12:07>> I'm talking about traffic circulation in

12:09and into the site and out of the site uh

12:11during peak hours.

12:12>> we

12:13If we could ask

12:15Is that the best we could do with that

12:16screen? Can we show uh Can we show uh

12:19the streets a little Can we zoom out a

12:20little bit maybe or not? I see it.

12:22Yeah, there you go, right?

12:24So this site has uh will have two

12:26entrances.

12:28One off of Foster Street

12:30and one off of uh South um Help me out

12:33there.

12:34>> What is it? South Kenwood?

12:35>> Yep.

12:36>> Kenwood and

12:37>> There's full circulation then around in

12:39that parking lot. Employees will park on

12:41the side of the building. [snorts]

12:42That'll be both the uh daycare employees

12:45and also the medical office staff um for

12:47the for So I think we have a excellent

12:50uh circulation on that site. It's

12:52Everything's a double loaded uh

12:54double loaded a parking aisle and then

12:56and there's easy in and out. Um

12:59it's it's actually a very safe site for

13:01us. We we like how it's laid out and

13:03it's

13:04um

13:04and [snorts] we we think we can service

13:06the people.

13:07>> And if we speak to the conditional use

13:09standards here, I think this site, more

13:11than any other, you particularly any

13:13other similarly zoned site in the

13:14immediate area, is is as best suited for

13:17this daycare use because of its ability

13:19to allow, you know, for sufficient

13:21drop-off, you know, loading, pick-up, as

13:24well as if if note on the bottom of that

13:27plan, you're able to have the required

13:30outdoor, you know, play and recreation

13:32areas, you know, on the backside, you

13:35know, that are not impacted by the

13:37vehicular access and circulation. So,

13:39this site, you know, when we talk about

13:41the

13:41>> How many children at a time would be

13:42outside uh in the recreation area?

13:45>> It It We have to be able to accommodate

13:47by code or we have to be able to

13:48accommodate half our students. So, it

13:51doesn't happen that way, but up to up to

13:5365 could be out there, but you know,

13:55it's by the class, right? And it's And

13:57it's staggered through the day. We have

13:58a you know,

14:00we have to be uber secure, right? These

14:02These are people's children. So,

14:04the staff goes out that back door.

14:06There's a There's an ADA ramp and

14:07there's also a set of stairs and down to

14:09grade, right? That Currently, the back

14:11of the building is about 4 ft off grade

14:13cuz back in the day this was an AMP and

14:14that was their loading dock. We'll take

14:16the loading dock out. It'll be It'll

14:18have rubber and

14:20you know, synthetic turf across that

14:21back play area. We have a first-class

14:24shade structures. Those are those big

14:26black boxes you see and we and play

14:28equipment back there.

14:30Um So, you know, 30 people max at any

14:33time out back.

14:34>> Okay. [snorts] Uh any other questions?

14:39>> I would just As a final note, you know,

14:41we're happy to answer any questions that

14:42come up that we have the

14:44support from the Kent Community

14:45Association and the the head of their

14:47economic development committee, uh Dirk

14:49Kaufman, is in the audience here should

14:51anyone have any questions. And also that

14:53this, you know, the is is support of the

14:55mayor's goal to increase, you know,

14:58access to early childhood development

15:00and education. So, we think that was an

15:02important aspect of this and this site

15:04being nearly, you know, exactly 1 acre

15:06at 43,500 sq ft, again, you know, is

15:09uniquely suited to uh house this, you

15:13know, conditional use and I urge the

15:14board to approve our request and happy

15:16to answer any questions.

15:18>> The one question staff had was seeing

15:21the fence um, to make sure it complied

15:23with

15:25the fence height encroachment provision.

15:27So, it make sure it if it's over 6 ft

15:30and that would require a variance. So,

15:31I'm assuming that the fence proposed is

15:35no more than 6 ft tall.

15:38>> Yep.

15:38>> So, if it's If it's not more than If

15:40it's going to be more than 6 ft, then we

15:41need to have a variance. So,

15:42>> Yep.

15:42>> And that that'll be submitted, you know,

15:43as part of their, you know, bigger

15:45building permit request and, you know,

15:47the team will either keep it under 6 ft,

15:49you know, as noted, thank you, Director

15:51Williams, or should they feel a need for

15:53that, they would come back for a

15:55variance. But, I think at this point the

15:56the goal is to keep it, you know,

15:58under 6 ft.

15:59>> We want to conform with the

16:00neighborhood. The fence [snorts] across

16:01the street at the top lot looks to be

16:03about 10 ft tall. I would They've been

16:05there a lot longer. I just want to make

16:07sure we do the right thing safety-wise.

16:09But, we'll check into that.

16:10>> Yep.

16:11>> All right.

16:11>> Okay.

16:12>> [snorts]

16:12>> That's a tall fence over there.

16:13>> Yeah, so I'm assuming that maybe they

16:14got separate approval when it got built

16:16or it was pre-dated the current.

16:18>> Any other questions for the applicants?

16:22>> None.

16:24>> Is this the largest of the three or four

16:25>> May I make a phone call?

16:27>> Is this the largest of the three or four

16:29operations in terms of students?

16:31>> Well, this is actually our smallest.

16:33>> Which is smallest?

16:34>> We try to be 10 to 12,000 sq ft. Um, and

16:37this is 94 and it's by square footage.

16:40So, so we're we're we're at the bottom

16:42edge. The the 130 is is the bottom

16:45uh, you know, capacity that we have.

16:47>> So, you got more students

16:49in in Essex and one

16:51>> We have We have one in White Marsh,

16:52which is a little larger, 12,000 ft. And

16:55the one in Frederick is about 12,000 ft.

16:57It's configuration of the space. We

16:59couldn't get it smaller. And then the

17:00the building in Elkridge is exactly like

17:03this one.

17:03>> But, how how many how many students are

17:05in uh

17:07all the locations? That's all.

17:08>> 135.

17:09>> 135?

17:11Okay.

17:12>> Slightly just a

17:14few more than here.

17:14>> This is 9,500 sq ft. 10,000 is our

17:17Elkridge facility, but as a box it's

17:19pretty similar.

17:22>> If anyone's here today to speak in

17:23opposition.

17:26Okay, after hearing today's testimony

17:29uh and reviewing the application

17:32and also considering the

17:34opposition's application, uh I found no

17:37reason to believe that the establishment

17:39of a daycare center for children up to

17:42for up to 130 children here will lead to

17:45any adverse consequences

17:47that would go above and beyond what

17:48you'd expect

17:50uh anywhere else within the zoning

17:51district.

17:52And so, for that reason I'm a yes.

17:54>> Also [snorts]

17:55Also yes.

17:56>> Also yes.

17:57>> Also yes.

17:59>> Yes.

18:01Thank you.

18:02>> Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the

18:03board.

18:03>> No problem.

18:04>> Thank you.

18:05>> Call on case 26-217-4301

18:08St. George's Avenue. Kingsway Bible

18:10Baptist Church is the app

18:11uh is the owner. The applicant is Shawn

18:15Cornister.

18:16Uh the request is to install a free

18:17standing

18:19electronic message sign requiring

18:21conditional use and variances from the

18:23bulk and yard regulations.

18:27Before we hear from planning, I ask that

18:28anybody here today who plans to speak

18:30either for or against this project to

18:32please stand and be sworn.

18:38>> Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the

18:40testimony that you'll be giving today in

18:41this matter will be the truth, the whole

18:43truth, and nothing but the truth?

18:45>> Yes.

18:46>> Thank you.

18:51>> Hey, appeal 26-217-4301

18:54St. George's Avenue. The request is to

18:57add an electronic sign to an existing

19:00place of worship. Uh this requires both

19:03a conditional use as well as variances.

19:06In the R5 zoning district, electronic

19:08signs require a conditional use

19:11approval. As outlined in the staff

19:12report, we find no reason

19:15why it would be more impactful at this

19:17site than any other similarly zoned

19:18property. So, we recommend approval of

19:22the conditional use for the sign. In

19:25addition to the the conditional use,

19:28they will require a variance from the

19:31maximum area, or sorry, the

19:34yes, the maximum area per sign that is

19:36allowed.

19:38Section 17 407 permits 25% of an

19:43integrated sign, so when there is a

19:46different type of sign besides

19:48electronic, which

19:49when we look at the

19:51mockup, which shows both a monument sign

19:53and an electronic sign, and just noting

19:56this is deviating a little bit from

19:58what's reflected in the report,

20:00I make a bit of a calculation change,

20:02but so 25% of the 32 ft

20:0632 sq ft is allowed to be an electronic

20:08sign, so that's 8 ft. The proposal is

20:11for 19.3 sq ft, so that is the variance

20:14that is required.

20:20As far as the unique conditions, this

20:23lot is resolved from an assembly or a

20:26consolidation of multiple lots in the

20:28past, so there's a school directly

20:30across the street, but other than that,

20:31it's a larger than the residential uses

20:34in the neighborhood, a large

20:35institutional lot that has dual street

20:38frontages, which would present a

20:40practical difficulty in getting the

20:41message to passersby on both streets

20:45strictly conforming to the 8 sq ft

20:47requirement of the code.

20:50Because this is a residential area,

20:53to to mitigate some of the impacts on

20:55neighbors, planning has recommended the

20:57condition of having the electronic

21:00portion of the light be turned off, or

21:02electronic portion of the sign be turned

21:03off and not admit any light between the

21:05hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. each

21:08night, but with that condition, we're

21:10recommending approval of both the

21:12conditional use and the variance.

21:15>> Awesome, thank you. Uh please um tell me

21:17about your project.

21:19>> Hello.

21:20Excuse me. [clears throat] My name is

21:21Shawn, I'm here um

21:23representing the the church here today.

21:25I'm with the the sign company. We're be

21:27the ones that will be uh building um and

21:29producing the sign. And um what we are

21:33looking to do is simply modernize um

21:36their existing sign. Looking at the

21:37boards, you can see

21:39um

21:40what they have there now is a existing

21:4232 uh square foot sign. And what we are

21:45proposing is a 32 square foot sign um

21:49slightly skinnier and slightly taller,

21:52um but both equaling uh 32 square feet.

21:56And uh what we're looking to do is um

21:59as you can see, you know, currently, you

22:01know, the church is using the letters

22:02and things like that um to change the

22:04messages and that sort of thing. And we

22:06are looking to convert that over to the

22:08digital sign.

22:10Um

22:10and I have um

22:12prepared some you know, some different

22:13notes as far as, you know, how we're not

22:16going to be affecting the neighborhood

22:17and everything like that. Um

22:19but, you know, to kind of boil this all

22:21down to a nutshell, um

22:23you know, times are changing and

22:24obviously you see more and more of these

22:26digital signs. Um

22:28this sign as proposed is the the most

22:30modest sign that we can propose staying

22:33within our same existing uh square

22:36footage um with not being too big and

22:39bulky and you know, vulgar with the

22:40digital sign.

22:42Um we believe that it's a perfect size

22:44sign to effectively, you know, get that

22:46message across, you know, clear, but not

22:49too big, um

22:50you know, to two lanes of our Excuse me,

22:53um two roads of travel with them sitting

22:55on the corner kind of makes them a bit

22:57unique compared to a lot of other

22:59properties that are just servicing one

23:00road. Um we're utilizing uh two roads

23:03with that same square footage.

23:08In regards to the structure and the

23:10location of the sign, the location of

23:12that sign has been in existence now for

23:15I believe over 20 years

23:18and

23:20the existing sign is going to be in the

23:22same exact location. We're actually

23:24going to be reusing the structure to be

23:26more cost-effective as well as hooking

23:29up to the existing power that's there.

23:34One of the biggest things that, you

23:36know, you hear when regards to these

23:39electronic signs is the brightness of

23:41them.

23:42As

23:43you know,

23:45we agreed upon the digital portion of

23:47the sign will be turned off every night

23:50from 11:00 p.m. till 6:00 a.m. But in

23:53addition,

23:54the signs are equipped with automatic

23:57brightness sensors, meaning that, you

24:00know, here, you know, right now in this

24:01time of year, it gets dark out about

24:036:00. So at 6:00 when it's getting dark

24:06out, the sign is automatically set to

24:10dim itself. So that way the sign's never

24:12going to be casting an aura or be even

24:14being too bright at, you know, 6:00 at

24:17night versus being, you know, whether it

24:19was 6:00 at night or 2:00 in the

24:20morning,

24:22the brightness is always going to be

24:23dimmed. But as a safeguard measure, we

24:26have agreed to

24:28turn off blackout the digital portion of

24:30the sign from 11:00 to 6:00. However,

24:33even when the sign is going to be on, it

24:36is going to be functioning under

24:39brightness settings. That way it's never

24:41going to be too bright, distract any

24:43motorist,

24:44impair any of the neighbors around us,

24:46any of that stuff.

24:49Also, as a sign company, we take

24:51extensive training in showing our

24:53clients on how to create the content

24:55that best looks suitable for these

24:57digital signs.

24:59Um, you know, instructed them to use

25:00darker color backgrounds with light

25:02color fonts versus the opposite where if

25:05you use a white background, makes these

25:07signs very bright, very hard to read,

25:09things like that. So, we go above and

25:11beyond and make sure that they're well

25:13versed in how to use the sign. Um, part

25:15of our commitment with the signs that we

25:17provide is if there's an issue with the

25:19sign that we're there servicing and

25:22repairing the sign in 72 hours or less.

25:25So, never will the sign be more than

25:27malfunctioning or anything like that for

25:29more than, you know, 72 hours at a time.

25:32In the event something is going wrong,

25:34the sign will be equipped with an

25:35automatic disconnect switch per code.

25:38That way the sign can be easily turned

25:40off in the event of anything else or if

25:43in the event anything comes up. Um, this

25:45sign will also be uh available for

25:48emergency alerts um

25:50with the town or excuse me, with the the

25:52city here. Um, the church will provide

25:54an email address and a phone number um

25:57to um to the city in the event that the

26:00city would need to display anything on

26:02the sign, uh emergency alert, weather

26:04alert, um

26:06the church would do so and agree to, you

26:09know, display that info um for the, you

26:11know, um

26:13uh you know, for the right amount of

26:14time, right.

26:16Um

26:18But other than that, you know, I could

26:19get into a lot of the details um you

26:21know, with Mama Jean, but I think I

26:23really just recapped everything that

26:25we're looking to do, how the sign's

26:26going to effectively um you know, follow

26:28all the ordinances, you know, it's not

26:30going to be playing animation, playing

26:33videos, it's going to go from one slide

26:35to the next, never going to be too

26:37bright. Um, and we believe, you know,

26:39with our location being on the, you

26:42know, a big intersection there that the

26:44size that we're proposing is the most

26:46modest size to be effectively seen and

26:49you know, for everybody involved. Um

26:53So, with that I will uh turn it over. Um

26:56oh, one more thing I would like to add

26:58in is that we also have a letter of

27:01approval from the neighborhood

27:03association.

27:04Um

27:06from Wilson Park Northern Northern

27:08Neighborhood Association approving um

27:11our sign as proposed.

27:14>> Thank you. Any questions for the

27:15applicant?

27:16>> And I may I did submit that late last

27:18evening.

27:19Um so, if anybody would like a copy of

27:20that letter, I have it here.

27:22>> Thank you. We got it. It's in the

27:23SharePoint.

27:25>> That's fine. It's not It's fine. It's in

27:26the file. Thank you.

27:27>> Thank you.

27:28Any questions for the applicant?

27:30>> No questions.

27:31>> No questions.

27:32Well, I'll I'll begin with the

27:33conditional use.

27:40Um

27:45I'd like to first adopt the the findings

27:46and recommendations in the Department of

27:48Planning's memo.

27:49Um and having considered the

27:50application, today's testimony,

27:52especially considering

27:53uh

27:55automatic dimming and night time, you

27:57know, evening and low-light conditions

27:58of the sign, uh I find no reason to

28:01believe that the establishment of

28:02electronic sign at this location uh will

28:05lead to any adverse consequences that

28:06will go above and beyond what you would

28:07expect anywhere else within this zone

28:09district. And so, I'm a yes for the

28:10conditional use for the sign.

28:14>> Also yes.

28:15>> I'm a yes.

28:17>> Also yes.

28:18>> Also yes for conditional use.

28:20>> And on both variances, uh what we have

28:22here is

28:24the replace the update of a of a current

28:26free-standing sign uh that will not be

28:28any larger than what's already there.

28:30Uh

28:33this is a peculiar condition because the

28:35zoning uh rules itself

28:38uh

28:39would only allow an electronic sign uh

28:42at this location that would actually be

28:44smaller than what's already there, and

28:45which would be impractical to use and

28:47would be much more difficult uh uh to

28:50read and to see than what's already

28:53there. And so

28:55that practical difficulty is entirely

28:56caused by the cold and not by any

28:58intentional actions or non-actions of

28:59the applicant.

29:01And I find no other reason to believe

29:04that

29:05allowing a variance for both electric

29:08component limit and height

29:10uh

29:10violates any other conditions of the

29:13variance goal. And so for those reasons

29:14I will yes for the application.

29:16>> Also yes. Also yes.

29:20>> I vote yes.

29:21>> Also yes. Do we need to accept the

29:23condition um from planning department?

29:25I'm sorry.

29:26>> Yeah, I was going to suggest that yeah

29:27like the the proposed condition from the

29:29planning department.

29:29>> Yes, and so I I did I did propose that

29:31we adopt the planning members. And those

29:32those includes the conditions regarding

29:35the electronic components uh

29:37limits in the evening and at night.

29:40And so that so just to be clear we're

29:42voting on those those conditions within

29:44the planning department.

29:45>> To clarify, in the code itself there is

29:46a dwell time provision that the

29:49electronic portion can't

29:51be more than 8 seconds or has to be

29:54dwell dwell for 8 seconds at minimum.

29:56>> Okay.

29:57>> It's part of the code.

29:58>> And so

30:00uh hearing nothing else, thank you guys.

30:03I think that that concludes our docket

30:05uh for today's

30:07Zoning Board uh meeting of the Board of

30:08Municipal Zoning and Appeals. Have a

30:10nice afternoon. Thank you. We are now

30:13off the record.