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The Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals held firm on the city's year-old sign ordinance, denying yet another request by Kosciusko Community Hospital to erect a billboard along U.S. 30.
"We're requesting two variances - one for the height and one for the size of the sign," said Diana Dalton of KCH. "We're requesting that you revert back to the old standards previously allowed."
Prior to the current sign ordinance's passage in 1998, commercial signs could be a maximum of 300 square feet. The new ordinance limits the size to 150 square feet.
Dalton said the hospital would enter into a long-term contract with Firma Advertising to erect, own and manage the billboard-style sign, but the sign would be exclusively for the hospital.
Despite that exclusivity, board members were opposed to the sign based of its size.
"One of the reasons we passed the sign ordinance was to prevent advertising billboard signs along the highway," said board member Dick Witt. "That's why we changed the ordinance - to get away from sign just like this."
The board's denial was the second rejection of a signage request by the hospital. In May, the board rejected a request by MedStat to erect a second free-standing sign along U.S. 30.
"When MedStat asked for a second sign, we said we would rather see a locator sign, telling what businesses are in there, and not an advertising sign," said board member Leigh Ann Zachary.
Board member Alan Clingan said that because the sign ordinance met with such controversy when it was proposed and adopted, he wasn't inclined to waive its requirements.
"The sign ordinance was a long, hard-fought battle to get passed, so we wouldn't have billboards through that area, and I think this would be a back-door way of getting billboards in," he said.
The board approved the height variance for any sign KCH would choose to erect, but denied the variance on size.
In other business, the board approved a use variance and a 4-by-4-foot sign for Ruoff Mortgage Co., 1614 E. Center St.
