Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The contested height of a sign at the new Warsaw Walgreens store was settled Monday by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
In a special meeting called specifically to decide the sign issue, the BZA approved Walgreens' request for a 25-foot sign at the corner of Argonne Road and Center Street in Warsaw.
City planner Jeff Noffsinger had opposed the 25-foot height, preferring 18 feet because it would be more "in character in the neighborhood."
Walgreens' attorney Steve Snyder said the company had "designed the sign in anticipation of what the intersection will be and not what it is."
Many BZA members said they agreed that 18 feet was adequate. Board member Bruce Woodward was one of the dissenters, saying that because he sees East Center Street as an arterial in a commercial district, "I don't see the 7 feet makes a whole lot of difference."
The deciding point, according to Snyder, was that the BZA had approved the site plan for the store, and the site plan called for a sign at a maximum height of 36 feet.
"Doesn't having site plan approval carry any weight?" Snyder asked. "We relied on site plan approval because the ordinance says you can rely on site plan approval."
Noffsinger agreed the sign information was on the site plan, but said the sign was not specifically discussed.
BZA attorney Bill Fawley settled the matter by telling the board, "I'm guessing we'll be hard-pressed to distinguish between items on the site plan that were discussed" and those that were not discussed. He also said a denial would be hard to defend since the site plan was approved and the sign information was on the site plan.
The board voted 3 to 1 in favor of a 25-foot sign, with Alan Clingan, Tom Heuer and Bruce Woodward voting for it and Richard Keeven voting against it. BZA member Dan Hampton was absent.
