The City of Southlake Sign Board voted 5-0 on Oct. 9 to approve a sign-variance request from Lambert Homes for its headquarters at 1710 North Whitechapel Boulevard.

The board approved two attached signs: a canopy-mounted sign on the building’s north elevation and an upper-story sign on the south elevation that faces State Highway 114. Staff told the board both signs exceed the ordinance’s permitted width (they exceed 75% of the single-plane façade) and that the canopy sign is a sign type not allowed in the sign ordinance without City Council approval.

The variance matters because the south-facing sign will be visible from Highway 114 and Lambert Homes said a monument sign at that corner was infeasible because a detention pond and underground utilities occupy the frontage. The applicant said the canopy sign will be visible mainly from inside the site and the south sign was the chosen solution to provide frontage identification without placing a monument sign in a constrained area.

Jacob Scoggins, an architect with Weberton representing the applicant, described the lighting plan and installation approach: "I'm not the sign guy, but we're the plan is to put an LED strip light underneath behind the fascia so it's discreet and so it'll just illuminate upwards." He said the north-mounted sign projects about 4 feet from the canopy and that the fixtures' optics will be selected to limit shadowing on the building.

Staff and board members discussed the signs’ illumination and color. Dennis (staff member) told the board, "The ordinance requires that it be a soft white neutral white, and any other color requires approval under a sign provision." The board said any future desire to change lighting color seasonally would require separate approval and should be included in materials taken to City Council.

Board members described the proposed signs as tasteful and not far outside the ordinance’s intent; one member noted the renderings shown are similar to those presented to the Planning and Zoning commission the prior year, although signage itself had not been approved at that time. The applicant acknowledged the architectural renderings are not perfectly precise: the architect said they are "about as good as you can get in the program" but not 100% accurate.

After discussion the board moved to approve the staff recommendation. A board member made the motion and another board member seconded; the vote passed 5-0. The chair concluded by noting the item will move on to City Council for the approvals that are outside the Sign Board’s authority.

The variance approval clears the Sign Board step; any changes to lighting color or other sign elements that are outside the ordinance will need express approval by City Council.