Tupelo planning committee approves additional ground sign and directional wayfinding at Midtown Point

The Tupelo Planning Committee unanimously approved a flexible-variance request to allow an additional ground sign at Midtown Point, 499 Gloucester Street, and recommended a small directional sign near Robert E. Lee Extended to help patients locate medical offices.

Staff said the property’s configuration—originally developed as a multi-tenant mall with limited Gloucester Street frontage—creates unique wayfinding difficulties for current tenants. Tanner Newman, Director of Development Services, told the committee the department reviewed the request and recommended approval because “the property as currently used needs better signage than it did when the mall was a destination.” Newman described the issue as a site-specific difficulty tied to the mall’s original development, not to the actions of the current tenants.

Kyle Fallon, CEO of Euro Logic, presented the applicant’s case and said wayfinding has been a persistent problem despite the practice being on the site nearly 10 years. “We see approximately 200 patients a day,” Fallon said, adding that many patients come from outside Lee County and that dense spring and summer foliage often obscures their building signage. Fallon said the proposed sign would replace an existing small ground sign and would be electrically illuminated at night; he asked that the sign remain within the city’s height limit and noted the proposal is intended for wayfinding rather than advertising new business.

Committee members discussed visual consistency with the nearby Midtown Point sign and landscaping around the sign. Leslie Mark, acting chair for the meeting, and other members urged the applicant to match the gabled-top style of the existing Midtown Point sign and to add minimal landscaping for appearance and visibility. The committee also discussed a separate small directional sign at the three-way intersection of Robert E. Lee Extended and Industrial; members suggested a directional plaque approximately 4 feet by 3 to 6 feet in size and asked staff to work with the applicant and property owner on location.

The motion—including a condition that the new ground sign be similar in style to the existing Midtown Point sign and that a directional sign roughly 4 to 6 feet by 3 feet be placed near Robert E. Lee Extended—passed unanimously. After the vote Tanner Newman advised the applicant to work with the city’s sign coordinator and the property owner to finalize specifications and to return the chosen designs to staff before fabrication.

The committee closed the public hearing portion of the item with no public speakers. The committee’s approval was for the variance request and the directional-sign recommendation; final permitting, exact dimensions and plan review will occur through the city’s sign permit and plan-review process.

The vote and conditions mean the applicant may proceed to finalize sign specifications with city staff; staff will confirm compliance with the city code during the permit review.