New Albany ARB approves relocation of a storefront sign at 9 South High Street

The New Albany Architectural Review Board on March 10 unanimously approved a certificate of appropriateness allowing a previously authorized sign to move to a different location on the building at 9 South High Street.

At the meeting the board heard ARB 2024-87, a staff-filed case describing a minor relocation after the tenant amended its lease and moved operations within the building. The applicant, identified in the hearing as Chris, said the tenant had vacated unit 11 and consolidated into unit 9, prompting the sign to shift "a couple—well, maybe 10 feet" down the façade to an existing, vacant armature.

Staff noted the only clearance change resulted from stairs no longer sitting beneath the sign and confirmed "everything's still meeting code." The applicant told members the sign will remain within the top of the window arches and that the proposed lighting will "probably interact with the building a little more seamlessly" than the previous placement.

After brief questions from the chair about how the new armature aligned with the window arches, the chair moved to approve the certificate of appropriateness for application ARB-87-2024 "without conditions." A second was offered and the board voted unanimously to grant the certificate.

The action permits the applicant to install the sign in the new location; board members did not attach extra conditions. Staff said the case was routine and that the applicant should coordinate final installation details with city staff to ensure continued code compliance.

The board is expected to hear additional sign cases and the previously tabled South High item at its next meeting in April.