The Bowling Green Zoning Board of Appeals on Nov. 12 voted down a request to reface an existing 8-by-8-foot pylon sign at 1502 E. Wooster that would have allowed Jersey Mike's and Wingstop to each have an additional sign beyond the two-per-business limit for multi-tenant parcels under the city's updated sign rules.

Nikki Thompson, who said she was representing the applicant and working with the sign contractor, told the board the pylon had been part of the original redevelopment proposal and that losing it would reduce visibility for the businesses. "It would affect business," Thompson said, adding that she had assumed the pylon would be restored when the building was redeveloped.

Planning staff pointed to the sign-regulations table (section 150.84 and related provisions) and explained that the 2023 zoning code amendment changed the per-business maximum from three to two signs on multi-tenant properties. Staff noted a 1993 variance addressed sign placement at this location but did not alter the number-of-signs limit.

Board members were split. Several members said the updated code intended this outcome and that the applicant or sign company should have known the rules; one board member, Julie Broadwell, said the sign company had "basically screwed the pooch," describing a contractor error. Other members said the new pylon would improve aesthetics and visibility and noted examples of older nearby sites with three signs.

A motion to approve the variance failed on a 3–3 roll call; the Chair advised the applicant of the right to appeal to the Wood County Court of Common Pleas. The board's deliberations focused on code consistency, mitigation alternatives (removing or blanking a panel), and whether older nearby signs reflect a grandfathered condition.