The City of Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals granted variances that allow internal illumination of wall signs for two commercial properties in the Upper High Street/Van Bourse area.

For VAR 25‑074, City Neon will install an internally illuminated wall sign at 479 Van Bourse Road; for VAR 25‑080, the applicant for 469 High Street (Roots Natural Kitchen, represented by Parker Walsh) will install internally illuminated channel‑letter signage consistent with its brand standards.

Planning staff reported no objections to either request and recommended standard conditions: any change to the approved sign must return to the board or be modified to comply with the city code. Board members noted the proposed designs fit the scale of the commercial district and that internally illuminated signs are common on Upper High Street, even if not permitted by right in the B‑4 district.

Glenn Dodson, chair of the trustees for the property at 479 Van Bourse Road, said the sign would improve wayfinding for visitors to the church and daycare on the site and that lights would be turned off at night. “The lighting we’re proposing will ... be turned off at midnight,” Dodson said, adding the church often turns off exterior lights when not needed.

Parker Walsh, appearing virtually for 469 High Street, said the business would operate roughly 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and that the applicant plans to use LED channel letters on a lighting control panel to keep illumination between about 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. “We’re not a late‑night option ... we will use a lighting control panel that would turn it on from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” Walsh said.

After public hearings with no speakers in opposition, the board voted to accept staff findings of fact and grant the variances. Planning will provide written notification within about seven to ten business days; those decisions may be appealed to the Circuit Court of Monongalia County within 30 days.