Hearing officer hears request for setback variance to allow 18-foot monument sign at Delfin shopping center

A Howard County hearing officer on May 21 heard testimony on BA25-004S, an application by Creative Edge Signs and the property owner to allow an 18-foot-4-inch monument sign at 8654 Baltimore National Pike (the Delfin shopping center).

The applicant requested a setback variance so the proposed sign could be located 21 feet from the Baltimore National right of way rather than the 36.66 feet required under the county sign rules, a difference of 15.66 feet cited in the staff report.

Applicant representative Michael Amaranto, representing Creative Edge Signs, said the center currently has two tenants — Abu Shawarma and High Point Laundromat — and that the existing ordinance limits monument height for centers with fewer than six tenants to roughly 4 feet, which he and the owner said is inadequate for visibility. “We’re…