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Collierville BZA OKs variance to restore subdivision sign in public right-of-way
Summary
The Town of Collierville Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance allowing The Woods homeowners association to rebuild a freestanding entry sign that sits in the public right-of-way, subject to conditions including a recorded plat note, height limits and sight-distance landscaping changes.
The Board of Zoning Appeals for the Town of Collierville on an undisclosed date approved a variance to allow the reconstruction of a freestanding entry sign for The Woods subdivision in a landscaped median that lies within the public right-of-way at South Tree Drive and Mahalia Road.
Planning staff told the board the sign previously stood on the median for decades, was demolished last year because of wood rot, and cannot be fully reconstructed without relief from the current sign regulations because it sits in the right-of-way and is closer than the town's required 10-foot setback.
Staff recommended approval, saying the site is an atypical situation dating to a 1978 plat that did not dedicate the median as a common open-space lot. Planning staff said the town owns the right-of-way and the homeowners association (HOA) has maintained the median for decades. The staff presentation noted a storm drainage pipe runs through the median and recommended conditions to avoid utilities, protect sight distance and limit adverse impacts.
"Staff is recommending approval of the variance because we believe that the variance test has been met," planning staff said during the presentation, adding that the applicant agreed to all recommended conditions. Those conditions include rerecording the subdivision plat to note the HOA's maintenance responsibility, a limit on sign height, and compliance with permitting and electrical-code requirements if the sign will be illuminated.
Josh Burnett, the applicant's representative from Renaissance Design Studio and a resident of The Woods, told the board the HOA wants to restore an attractive, lower-profile sign. "The sign before, to be honest, it was falling apart and it was just ugly," Burnett said, adding that the HOA would take responsibility for maintaining the median and for completing required paperwork.
Longtime resident Patrick Corrigan said the subdivision is a "legacy" neighborhood and that the proposed sign is intended to be "fairly low key" and not to compromise safety. Planning staff said the applicant plans a sign shorter than the maximum allowed: drawings show columns at about 4 feet 8 inches and 4 feet, while the code allows a six-foot freestanding sign; the board adopted a condition to cap the height consistent with the applicant's proposal.
The board discussed alternatives the HOA could pursue, including requesting a right-of-way vacation from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen so the median could be deeded and dedicated as common open space, or pursuing easements on adjacent private lots. Planning staff said those routes would be more time-consuming and still would likely require a variance because the sign could not meet the 10-foot setback without additional changes.
Following a motion to approve the variance as shown on the agenda packet with conditions, the board voted unanimously to grant the variance. Planning staff told the applicant to coordinate final permit details, lighting shield requirements and the plat rerecording with town staff as they proceed.
The meeting also recorded routine BZA business: officers were selected, minutes from Aug. 24 were approved, and the board announced a tentative April meeting to consider a separate McDonald's site plan in the Carriage Crossing Marketplace area.
