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Board approves larger wall sign and split on relief request for Pharmavite building on Jug Street
Summary
The New Albany Board of Zoning Appeals approved a 143.6 sq ft wall sign for Pharmavite’s building at 13700 Jug Street and, in a 3–2 vote, granted reduced sign-relief (0.5" vs. the 1" code requirement). Staff said the request fits precedents and a pending code update would cap signs at 200 sq ft.
The New Albany Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve two variances for a proposed wall sign at 13700 Jug Street, allowing a 143.6-square-foot sign and, in a split vote, reduced sign relief. The board approved the sign-size variance unanimously and approved the relief variance 3–2.
Staff told the board the site covers about 41.7 acres and the building is roughly 228,000 square feet; the applicant sought an increase over the code maximum of 75 square feet to accommodate a sign that staff calculated would be about 0.66% of the building’s façade. Staff also said the board has approved several similar exceptions in recent years and that an ongoing code update proposes a 200-square-foot cap for large buildings.
Rebecca Green, who identified herself as working with Columbus Sign Company and speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the building is set back about 550 feet from Jug Street and argued that a smaller sign would be out of scale. "We're very excited to be a part of New Albany's business scape," Green said, and described difficulties sourcing the 1-inch-thick material called for by the existing code, noting the proposed metallic aluminum letters and dark backing were intended to keep the sign visually distinct.
Several board members asked whether the required projection could be achieved by mounting the letters on pegs or brackets rather than thicker material; staff said both approaches exist and suggested projecting mounts as a reasonable alternative if materials are unavailable. Staff also flagged prior large approvals, saying an Amazon sign of 297 square feet and an Amplify Bio sign of 215 square feet were previously approved in the area.
The vote on variance A (sign area) passed 5–0 after a motion and second. The vote on variance B (sign relief) passed 3–2. After the latter vote, one member who opposed the relief asked that their reason be recorded: "I just have to feel that our code has been created with a certain intent of uniformity," the member said, adding the record did not include sufficient detail about lead times or supplier impossibility. Another dissenting member said they were unwilling to "open that door" to precedent without more information but said they would revisit the question later.
Staff and the applicant said they will consider projecting mounts if feasible and staff noted it will continue tracking variance history to give future boards comparative context. The board’s approval concludes the BZA-level review; the site-specific sign will still require permitting and compliance with any additional city sign standards.
The transcript contains inconsistent spellings for the company (appearing as "Pharmavite," "FarmVite" and other variants); this article uses the first rendering in the record, "Pharmavite," and notes alternative transcriptions were present in the meeting text.
The BZA also accepted the staff report into the record before voting. The board scheduled internal follow-up to discuss precedent and consistency.
