Lexington zoning board upholds staff view that Topps is a brand, not a product sign

The Town of Lexington Board of Zoning Appeals on Dec. 5 voted to uphold town staff's interpretation of the sign ordinance that the Topps/TOPS name constitutes a brand, not a product, after hearing from the owner of Palmetto Cards and Collectibles.

Palmetto owner Aaron Cordera told the board he moved his business to 607 Columbia Avenue and sought permission to install a wall sign displaying the Topps brand. "I believe when you can physically buy it, it's a product," Cordera said, arguing that Fanatics (which owns Topps) had approved his use of the mark and that reconfiguring the building or creating a separate business entity would impose excessive cost.

Staff had denied the proposed sign under section 1590709 because the ordinance defines a product sign as one that directs attention to products "sold, offered or dispensed on the premise" and historically requires identifying the product (for example, "playing cards"), not the supplier or brand. Staff also warned that naming a supplier could be construed as off-premise advertising under section 1590801.

A representative for All American Sign provided measurements during the hearing, saying the existing wall sign is about 23 square feet, the building's linear frontage is 46 feet and the additional sign requested would be roughly 10 square feet (about 37.33 square feet in total). The board and sign contractor agreed that the proposed total would be under the 15% wall-area allotment for a tenant space, but the central question before the board was the ordinance interpretation, not the gross square footage.

After discussion, a board member moved to "uphold staff's interpretation of TOPS as a brand and not meeting the definition of a product sign." The motion was seconded and passed on a roll call in which Ron Fischer, Troy, Justin Brown and Brian each voted "yes." The board's action upholds staff's reading of sections 1590709/1590801 and means the applicant cannot rely on the product-sign pathway to place the Topps name on a second wall sign.

Board members then discussed whether the variance standard'which requires showing extraordinary and exceptional conditions specific to the property'was met. Several members said they did not find the property's configuration or topography to meet that standard and expressed skepticism that requiring Cordera to reconfigure his building or establish a separate tenant would qualify as the legally defined "extraordinary and exceptional" condition. The transcript shows a detailed back-and-forth, during which the board distinguished freestanding businesses (which may have different sign allotments based on road frontage) from tenant spaces in a commercial center.

The board and staff clarified next steps. Staff encouraged the applicant and other business owners to participate in a planned comprehensive review of the town's sign ordinance, beginning early next year, and said stakeholders would be invited to meetings. Staff also noted there is an ongoing code-enforcement matter at the applicant's prior location. The hearing record does not show a separate, formal roll-call vote granting or denying the applicant's requested variance after the interpretation vote; board members discussed options including withdrawing the variance request, pursuing a single centered wall sign that identifies the product (for example, "playing cards") within the product-sign size limit, or participating in the ordinance review.

The board completed routine business (approval of prior minutes) and adjourned. Cordera and other business owners were told the ordinance-review process will include stakeholder meetings and public notices on the town website and social media.

What the board decided: the board upheld staff's interpretation that the Topps name is a brand and not a product under the town sign ordinance; the variance request for an additional wall sign was discussed but a final, separate variance vote does not appear in the hearing record.