Zoning board approves limited signage for proposed Costco at Roaring Fork Road

The Silver Spring Township Zoning Hearing Board voted June 10 to approve a signage variance for a proposed Costco Wholesale store and fueling facility at the Roaring Fork Road/Hempt Road intersection, allowing a total of 1,291 square feet of building and canopy signage under a specific allocation the board set at the hearing.

Min Kim, the building architect with MG2, told the board the 24‑acre development includes a 161,163‑square‑foot retail building and an 8,140‑square‑foot fueling canopy. Under the ordinance’s default limits, attached building signs are capped at 75 square feet and a maximum of two signs per principal use; the applicant asked instead to place up to six wall signs and four canopy signs to aid visibility from surrounding streets.

Kim said the compliant sign package (two building signs of 75 sq ft each and two canopy signs of 21 sq ft each) would place most signage 440–591 feet from Route 11, leaving motorists little time to detect and act on wayfinding information. “The total wall area of the building and fuel facility canopy is 52,326 square feet,” Kim testified. “The compliant signage accounts for less than one percent of the total wall area. The signage with the variance approved only takes about two percent of the total wall area.”

Costco’s representative, Erich Brann, said the requested sizes and placements were selected to provide drivers sufficient time to detect, interpret and safely maneuver into the site from Hempt Road, Roaring Fork Road and Lexus Lane. Kim said all signs would be externally illuminated with down‑lighting (warm white LED) rather than backlit elements; Brann added site lighting would typically remain on until about 11 p.m.

Board members probed why identically sized signs were proposed for façades at different distances from key roads, whether relocating the building could reduce the need for variances, and how future development nearby might affect sightlines. Township staff said the project has conditional land development approval, an approved stormwater plan and that the site is unusually large and four‑sided, which factored into staff’s review.

After deliberation, the board said it struggled to find unnecessary hardship for all requested wall signs but was willing to grant a narrower approval. Chairman Don Franklin moved, and member Ryan P. Siney seconded, to grant the variance with the following specifics: two building signs of 251 square feet each, one 174‑square‑foot building sign (entrance canopy), one 31‑square‑foot tire‑center sign and four fuel canopy signs of approximately 20.54 square feet each. The motion carried unanimously.

The board noted Costco may return to request further relief in the future if subsequent adjacent development materially alters sightlines or creates a new hardship. The applicant’s exhibits (A‑1 through A‑4) and the architect’s plan set were admitted into the record.

The board’s approval addresses only the sign area and sign quantity variances; other elements of the land development and permitting process (PennDOT, DEP) remain separate and ongoing. The project’s opening was described as projected for summer 2025.

Votes at a glance: Variance 2024‑4 (Costco Wholesale Corp.) — Approved unanimously; motion specified exact sizes and placings.