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Board clears Clear Creek Christian School to keep larger sign at Church Lane site
Summary
After testimony from church leaders and community supporters, the Board granted a variance allowing Clear Creek Christian School to maintain a larger set of signs than the zoning tables otherwise allow for the residentially zoned site.
The Monroe County Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve VAR-25-15 on May 7, allowing Clear Creek Christian Church to maintain existing signage and add a new wall sign identifying Clear Creek Christian School at the church campus near the intersection of South Rogers Street and West Church Lane in Clear Creek Township.
Staff explained the site remains zoned residential under the county code for sign‑allocation purposes and therefore is limited to a total of 32 square feet per the sign tables in Chapter 8.17. The campus’ consolidation of multiple parcels created a single lot of record with several existing signs and an erroneous 2013 permit that had previously allowed more signage. The church requested relief for a proposed new wall sign of about 58.5 square feet, bringing the total on‑site signage to roughly 220.5 square feet.
Church representative Rick Adams told the board the campus and school are long‑standing community institutions, dating to the 19th century, and described how the additional sign will help visitors identify the school building: “Seeing that sign is kind of a good punctuation point,” Adams said. Several community members — including multiple generations of the Hill family, longtime members of the church — spoke in support at the hearing.
Staff recommended approval of the design‑variance request, noting the large legal acreage of the church campus and the practical challenge of limited visibility for the school building from South Rogers Street. The board approved the variance in a recorded vote. No conditions were listed in the motion; the board noted any further signage beyond this request would require another variance.
Why it matters: The campus serves hundreds of students and community members; the sign variance affects wayfinding and campus identification and sets a local example for how consolidated institutional parcels are treated under sign tables that group uses by zoning district.
What’s next: Property owners may install the designated sign but must follow standard sign regulations (placement, lighting, materials) and seek additional approvals for any further increases.
