Nashua ZBA OKs larger DPW sign at 848 West Hollis after board finds material change in prior denial

The Zoning Board of Adjustment granted the City of Nashua a special exception on Sept. 9 to install a larger monument sign for the Department of Public Works at 848 West Hollis Street, after the board first found a material change in circumstances from a previous application that had been denied. The board approved a 33.8-square-foot sign, 9 feet tall, in a R-30 zone where 10 square feet and 6 feet height are normally permitted, with a condition limiting summertime illumination.

The finding that the Dover v. Fisher criteria had been met came at the start of the hearing. Vice Chair Josh Neely moved that the board conclude a material change had occurred and the board should hear the case; the motion was seconded and carried, enabling the city’s new application to proceed. Attorney Andrew Prolman, representing the Division of Public Works, told the board the key difference from the earlier proposal was that the new sign contains "no EMC" (electronic messaging center), a factor he said was central to the prior denial: "There's no EMC in the sign,"…