The Wimberley Board of Adjustment on June 24 denied two variances requested for a proposed exterior roof sign at 9595 Ranch Road 12, the location known as the Junction. The applicant sought a variance to permit an exterior neon sign (a sign type expressly prohibited by the city's sign ordinance) and a second variance to exceed the size limit for roof signs.

City planning staff told the board the sign application required two separate variances and warned that the first test for a neon sign "doesn't meet that test" because the ordinance specifically prohibits neon. Staff advised the board that the size variance would need to meet the five findings set out in the sign-variance standard before a size increase could be granted.

Molly Bowen, identified in the record as a co-owner of the Junction and a partner in the Neon Armadillo restaurant, told the board the business needed larger letters because the building is set back roughly 500–600 feet from the public right-of-way. Bowen said the applicants had measured the proposed letter area at about 103 square feet and argued that, when measured against the combined facade area of the restaurant and a recently approved kitchen addition, the letters would account for less than 10 percent of the facade.

Several residents and community representatives spoke in opposition or caution. Greg Webb, chair of Wimberley Valley Dark Sky, said the organization opposed any variance that would increase outdoor light visible beyond the site and urged shielding and compliance with the city’s dark-sky rules. Seth Bitney and other nearby residents said Wimberley’s night‑sky character and tourism-driven charm would be harmed by visible, unshielded signage at the intersection.

Sign shop owner Alan Basinger, who identified himself as a nearby resident, told the board that traditional neon is an exposed-channel light that projects outward and that LED alternatives that mimic neon exist. Lewis Parks, identified as a founder of the local dark-sky committee, told the board the ordinance had been written to prevent neon in the city.

After public comment and board discussion about whether the calculation of facade area should include the detached kitchen addition and connecting pavilion, a motion to deny both variances carried by a 3–2 vote. The board recorded a three‑to‑two vote in favor of denial; staff stated that approval requires a supermajority and that, with the majority voting to deny, the variances would not be granted.

The denial means the applicant may either redesign the sign to comply with the sign code (for example, an internally lit, shielded sign type allowed by code) or return with a revised application and supporting findings. Staff reiterated that any permitted sign must comply with the city's dark‑sky lighting limits and luminance rules.