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Planning Commission approves New Ebenezer Baptist Church signage amendment
Summary
The City of Florence Planning Commission approved a PDD amendment allowing New Ebenezer Baptist Church to replace an older sign with a larger monument sign at 312 S. Ravenel St.; staff said the requested sign is smaller than the maximum allowed by activity‑center standards and a public speaker supported the change.
The City of Florence Planning Commission voted to amend the New Ebenezer Baptist Church planned development district so the church can install a larger monument sign on a vacant lot it owns at 312 South Ravenel Street.
Staff planner Miss Lane told the commission the church is requesting a monument sign located about 5 feet off the property line with a display area of roughly 37 square feet; the total sign would be about 73 square feet and about 10 feet tall. The current PDD limits site‑entrance signs to a 24‑square‑foot display. Lane said the amendment would apply activity‑center (AC) standards — which allow up to 80 square feet and a 24‑foot height — for this PDD so the church’s proposed sign would conform to that standard in the future.
“This is, a little bit unusual, something we don't get too often,” Lane said. She explained the request is limited to the New Ebenezer Church PDD and would not change signage rules elsewhere in other PDDs.
Kenneth Barnes, who identified himself as a member of New Ebenezer Baptist Church, spoke in favor: “More visibility for our church and for our recreational center, the She Wreck, as we call it.” There were no speakers who opposed the amendment during the public hearing.
A commissioner moved and the commission approved the PDD amendment by voice vote. The amendment now allows the church to proceed with the proposed monument sign under the AC standards; any future, larger change beyond the AC limits would require additional review.
The commission’s action was procedural: staff will update the PDD document and the church may pursue permits under the updated standard.
