Southborough ZBA allows taller wall sign at 153 Corteville Road but rejects backlit illumination

The Southborough Zoning Board of Appeals on May 7 granted a special permit to 153 Corteville Road LLC to install a wall sign above the town—ylaw height limit for a building in the Industrial Park district, but the board did not approve internally backlit (LED) illumination as proposed by the applicant.

Shannon Boyce, real estate permitting manager for Capital Group Properties, told the board the tenant reduced the requested sign area from an initial 80 square feet to 50 square feet after a planning-board review; the board noted 50 square feet complies with the district's area limits and that a special permit is needed only to exceed the 20-foot height limit. "We have scaled it back down to 50 square feet total," Boyce said, and asked the board to allow LED-backlit signs of the type the company has installed on other buildings.

Members of the board and the planning board had raised two recurring concerns: the bylaw's restriction on translucent or fabric-letter panels off Route 9 (cited in the planning-board memo as Section 174-11(c)(3)), and the precedent that would be set by approving a blanket allowance for future signs on the same building. The planning-board report also recommended the sign not be illuminated between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Board members said they were generally supportive of the sign's size and location for the industrial/commercial setting, but raised procedural and precedent questions about backlit illumination. "I think we do have a problem with doing the backlit illumination," the chair said; several members noted that most of the nearby plaza signage was not internally illuminated and that approving LED-backlit signs could invite more applications for the same treatment.

The board closed the public hearing and voted to approve the application to exceed the allowed height while otherwise requiring compliance with the sign bylaws. The vote approved a sign up to the 50-square-foot area the applicant submitted but did not permit the internally backlit LED panels the tenant had requested; the applicant agreed to redesign the sign accordingly.

Board members also said individual signs should come before the board for review rather than granting an open-ended allowance for all future wall signs on the building. Shannon Boyce said she will consult with the tenant and return with a revised sign that meets the board's conditions.

Laura, the board administrator, said staff will prepare a written decision and file it with the town clerk; the board's filing deadline for this matter is May 21. After filing, the 20-day appeal period applies and the applicant can proceed with permits once the appeal period expires.

The board cited the Southborough sign and zoning bylaws in its discussion and relied on the planning board's memorandum for recommended conditions. The approval was recorded as a special permit to exceed sign height with conditions limiting illumination and requiring future signs to follow standard filing procedures.