Crown Point BZA approves variance for larger building signs at Powers Health cancer center

The Crown Point City Board of Zoning Appeals on Sept. 22 approved a variance allowing 223.9 square feet of on-building signage for a new Powers Health and Northwest Cancer Centers facility at 10191 Broadway, exceeding the 100-square-foot maximum permitted in B3 business zoning.

Board members approved the petition, labeled 25-32 on the agenda, by a 4-0 vote after hearing testimony from the project’s construction and sign representatives and a staff report that said planning did not recommend approval. The board appended a finding that the proposed signage was proportional to the size of the three-story building and its distance from Broadway.

Brian Sleuther, construction manager for Powers Health, said the petitioners were returning to the BZA to seek approval of wall signage after the monument sign was approved at an earlier meeting. He told the board the building address is 10191 Broadway and that the proposed total on-building signage would be 223.9 square feet because of the building’s scale and setback. “We’re here this evening, proposing a variance for the exterior signage or the wall signage on the building for the cancer care building,” Sleuther said.

A Planning Department staff member summarized the file: the petitioner requested a variance from development standards to allow on-building signage to exceed the 100-square-foot limit in B3 zoning; the total proposed area is 223.9 square feet, with one sign reading “Powers Health” at roughly 99 square feet and another reading “Northwest Cancer Centers” at roughly 97 square feet facing Broadway, plus a third 27.9-square-foot sign facing Community Court. The staff report said the department did not recommend approval and noted that no calls of support or remonstration had been received and that all notices were sent by certified mail and published.

Sean O’Brien of Legacy Sign Group and another sign representative, identified in the record as Scott, explained technical constraints if the petitioner were required to meet the 100-square-foot limit. Scott said reducing the sign size would force construction changes and smaller, less legible letterforms: “The letters get so small, I’m not gonna be able to do those in individual channel letters like we’re asking for now,” he said, adding that some designs would have to be box signs with routed letters and that stroke widths would present fabrication problems for smaller lettering.

Board members discussed whether the ordinance’s 100-square-foot limit is proportional for large buildings. A board member noted the building’s facade measures several thousand square feet and argued a 100-square-foot limit is small relative to the face of a three-story, roughly 71,000-square-foot building. Multiple members said the building’s setback from Broadway and the desire for a consistent campus appearance with the adjacent rehabilitation center supported a larger sign. Several members suggested the City consider revising the sign ordinance to tie sign allowance more directly to building size or frontage.

After reopening the public hearing and receiving no public comment, the board voted to approve petition 25-32. The motion was made and seconded on the record; the outcome was recorded as approved with a 4-0 tally. The board also directed that the approval be tied to the stated rationale that, given the building’s size and distance from the roadway, a larger area of signage is proportionate.

The board noted the petition had been before the BZA at a prior meeting where the vote was tied 2-2, and members said planning staff will continue to refine review procedures to ensure sign packages are included in site development submittals. The meeting moved on after the vote, and several members volunteered to assist staff if the city pursues a code update.