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Board of Adjustment approves sign variance allowing eight freestanding signs for Ascension Seton Medical Center
Summary
The Austin Board of Adjustment granted a sign-variance request that allows Ascension Seton Medical Center to install eight freestanding signs on its 20-acre site at 1201 West 30th Street, with maximum heights and sign areas limited by the board’s motion and subject to standard permitting review.
The Austin Board of Adjustment on Feb. 10 approved a variance allowing Ascension Seton Medical Center to install eight freestanding signs at 1201 West 30th Street, with the board setting “not to exceed” heights and sign-area limits the applicant must meet when it applies for permits.
The variance was granted after the applicant, Colton Golke of Lewis Sign, said the hospital’s 20-acre site requires additional freestanding signs to direct patients and emergency traffic; board members voted unanimously to approve the request.
Board members said the request was supported by evidence that one or two freestanding signs would be insufficient to direct traffic across the large campus. The board’s motion approved the signage as shown on slide 2 of the applicant presentation and specified maximums: E17 not to exceed 8 feet in overall height; WFO1, WFO2 and E05 not to exceed 4 feet 8 inches; EO1 and EO2 not to exceed 6 feet 1 inch; B01 not to exceed 3 feet 6 inches; and E35 not to exceed 4 feet. The motion and a subsequent clarification noted those measurements are “not to exceed” figures to be enforced by the permitting process.
Colton Golke identified the legal basis cited in the application as a variance from City of Austin Land Development Code section 25-10-130 (commercial sign district regulations). Golke said the applicant had obtained permits for wall signs and was awaiting resolution of the freestanding sign variance before fabrication and installation; he said a midsummer installation is planned if permits follow.
Board members asked for sign setbacks and heights during the presentation; Golke confirmed the tallest sign would be 8 feet overall and that all freestanding signs would meet a 12-foot setback from the property line. Commissioners also discussed visual hierarchy and emphasized that the emergency/ER designation should be clear.
Motion and vote: The motion to approve the variance (tied to the applicant’s presentation, slide 2 of 3, and the dimensions listed above) was made on the record and seconded; the board voted unanimously in favor. The chair announced the variance was granted and the applicant may proceed to permitting.
The board’s approval does not itself issue construction permits. The applicant remains subject to the city’s permitting review and any permit conditions. The board recorded its findings on necessity, hardship (site configuration and need to direct traffic for emergency response), lack of adverse impact to neighboring properties, and parity with other local hospitals that have multiple freestanding signs.
The applicant left the meeting after the vote; board staff will record the formal decision and the applicant will return to the permitting portal to complete permit reviews.
