Boerne Design Review Committee approves two sign variances for Mines Meat Market at 101 S. Main Street

The Boerne Design Review Committee on record approved two sign variances for Mines Meat Market, a new tenant at 101 South Main Street in Boerne, allowing a 4-foot projection of a hanging sign from a 5-foot-wide canopy and a total of 82 square feet of tenant signage where the Unified Development Code (UDC) otherwise limits such a space to 25 square feet.

Committee Chair Chris Taylor presided as city planner Joanne Marie Andrade presented staff findings and recommendations and said the Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) had issued a certificate of appropriateness and recommended approval after a special-called HLC meeting on June 9 following a June 3 meeting that lacked a quorum.

Andrade told the committee the hanging sign is non-illuminated, measures 2 feet 6 inches by 4 feet (10 square feet), and would hang perpendicular to the building under an existing 5-foot canopy. Under UDC section 9-7(d)(7), signs may project no more than 60 percent of canopy width (3 feet in this case); the applicant requested a 4-foot projection, exceeding the limit by 1 foot. For total sign area, Andrade said the applicant requested 82 square feet distributed across three signs: a 48-square-foot wall sign (4 by 12 feet), a 24-square-foot canopy sign (2 by 12 feet), and the 10-square-foot hanging sign, totaling 82 square feet versus the 25-square-foot maximum for tenant spaces with less than 50 feet of frontage per UDC section 9-7(d)(1)(b).

Staff recommended approval of both variances, finding that strict enforcement of the standards would create an unnecessary hardship because the property’s configuration and the district’s highly pedestrian character limit visibility at walkable distances. Andrade said the canopy predates the variance request and that the proposed signage is in scale with the building and compatible with nearby commercial signs, would not obstruct views, and would not adversely affect adjacent properties.

Mason Mines, the owner and prospective tenant, presented photos of existing signs around downtown Boerne he said were comparable in size and projection and said his intent is to make the business visible to pedestrians and Main Street traffic. He told the committee the building’s internal layout and the fact that the tenant entrance faces East San Antonio Street contributed to the request for more signage than the standard allows.

After brief discussion, a committee member moved to approve each variance separately and the committee voted to approve the hanging-sign variance and the total-sign-area variance. The meeting record indicates the motions passed with a majority and that one member, Lindsay, voted against the motion. Specific seconders were not noted on the record.

The committee’s approvals were accompanied on the record by the staff presentation that emphasized the five-part UDC variance test (hardship, unique circumstance, not self-imposed, no adverse impact, harmony with UDC intent). The planner reminded members that the Design Review Committee reviews physical attributes of signage (size, placement, materials, lighting) and not sign content.

The approvals allow Mines Meat Market to proceed with the proposed sign package, subject to any permit and installation requirements enforced by city staff and the certificate of appropriateness issued by the HLC. The committee moved on to other business after the votes.