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Board allows larger store sign at 2525 East Hillsborough to improve visibility for supermarket
Summary
The Variance Review Board approved increasing building sign area from 25 to 162.5 square feet for a food market at 2525 East Hillsborough Avenue, citing the store's distance from the street and visibility challenges.
The Variance Review Board on June 10 approved a request to increase allowable building signage at 2525 East Hillsborough Avenue from 25 square feet to 162.5 square feet to improve visibility for a new food market tenant located toward the rear of the plaza.
Applicant Quanisha Jenkins said the store has a 163‑linear‑foot storefront set back about 650 feet from the main entrance at a busy intersection and argued that the site’s depth and intervening site features create visibility disadvantages not faced by neighboring parcels. The applicant said the proposed sign will be designed and installed to meet structural and electrical code requirements and that illumination will be controlled to avoid glare and light spill.
City staff summarized the parcel as a multi‑tenant strip center where the portion in question will become a Key Foods supermarket. Department reviews returned largely consistent or conditionally consistent findings for Natural Resources, Transportation, wastewater, water, right‑of‑way, stormwater, urban design and TECO.
A representative who manages the store testified that the current, small monument/plaza sign and temporary banners provided inadequate visibility: staff said employees have had to direct people to the store entrance. Board members noted the applicant provided examples of other large signs on neighboring parcels and discussed that prior approvals for nearby signs are not precedent for this parcel; the board must find a hardship specific to this site.
After discussion, the board found the applicant presented competent and substantial evidence under the five hardship criteria in section 27‑80 of the code, specifically citing the property’s distance from the road and limited visibility, and approved the variance to allow a 162.5‑square‑foot building sign.
