Board grants church variance to replace damaged sign with modern electronic reader board, limits hours

The North Augusta Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance allowing First Providence Baptist Church to replace a hurricane‑damaged nonconforming freestanding sign at 315 Barton Road with a new sign that includes a modern electronic reader board.

Planning staff explained the existing sign — installed roughly in 1993 and damaged by Hurricane Helene — was a legal nonconforming sign with an attached electronic message center. The church sought a variance to modernize the sign and restore the reader‑board messaging capability. Church representatives said the existing electronic system was antiquated and unreliable, and that replacing the sign would improve communication with congregation members and the wider community.

Deacon Wyman Pope said the proposed new sign would be smaller overall than the old structure and would include a 2‑by‑6‑foot electronic message area; church representatives also noted the current changeable‑letter system posed safety risks for elderly volunteers who had to climb to change letters. A church member described the new reader board as cloud‑based and remotely updatable so staff will not have to be on site to change messages.

The board found the application met the variance criteria — including a demonstrated hardship from storm damage and the sign’s longstanding presence — and approved the request with two conditions: the variance applies only to this property and the submitted sign details; and the electronic reader board must not operate between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The board’s vote was unanimous.