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Zoning board approves second wall sign for 1 Newbury Street
Summary
The Peabody Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance allowing a second, internally illuminated wall sign at 1 Newbury Street after the applicant argued the building setback and logo shape inflate measured square footage beyond the 75-square-foot bylaw limit.
The Peabody City Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday approved a variance to allow a second wall sign at 1 Newbury Street that exceeds the 75-square-foot limit in the city signage bylaw.
Edward Batten of Batten Brother Signs told the board the proposed sign for Ebenezer Tax Corp would measure 42 inches tall by 27 feet, 6 inches wide and that the method the city uses to calculate sign area — enclosing the full logo in a rectangle — inflates the measured size to about 96.25 square feet. Without the surrounding rectangle, Batten said, the letters alone measure about 48.95 square feet and the logo about 11.66 square feet. He added the building’s setback from the main road and the height at which the sign will be installed make the available 16 square feet for additional tenant signage “totally inadequate” for the owner’s advertising needs.
The board closed the public hearing and voted to approve the variance. The board’s roll-call shows members voting in favor, and the chair announced the application was approved.
The application requested relief from Section 11.5.0.2 of the signage bylaw, which limits cumulative signage area per premise to 75 square feet; the applicant argued the total signage would still be only about 3.41% of the building’s total wall area. The applicant said the sign would be internally illuminated white LEDs with colored logo areas and that the business anticipated switching the illumination on at dusk and for a short period after closing rather than 24/7.
Because the board’s action was a variance, the decision will be typed and filed with the city clerk and is subject to a 20-day appeal period, after which the applicant may proceed if no successful appeal is filed.
The applicant and the board did not record any formal conditions on illumination hours in the hearing transcript; the applicant said they would work with the board if the board preferred conditions.
