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Board approves Texas Roadhouse pole sign but trims height after debate
Summary
The Clarksville Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances allowing a pole sign for a proposed Texas Roadhouse at 4615 Medical Plaza Way, but reduced the approved maximum height to 52.5 feet and approved area and location variances after members cited grade, existing billboard removal, and visibility needs.
The Clarksville Board of Zoning Appeals on Feb. 25 approved variances to allow a pole sign for a proposed Texas Roadhouse at 4615 Medical Plaza Way but limited its maximum height to 52.5 feet.
Planning staff explained that the MED zoning district does not permit pole signs and that the town’s sign ordinance normally caps pole heights at 25 feet (30 feet where a sign fronts an interstate and is not visible from a residential district). The applicant requested three variances: location in the MED district, a 60‑foot height, and increased sign area; staff noted the site sits roughly 30 feet below Veterans Parkway and said the removal of an existing billboard on the parcel could be a mitigating circumstance.
Brandon Goldberg of Greenberg Farrow, the project designer, told the board “this prototype will be their largest to date” and said the company conducted a boom test to confirm visibility from I‑65. Doug Drewen, representing Texas Roadhouse’s signage team, told the board the proposed sign is intended to provide motorists a clear marker because the site has no direct access from Armed Forces Way and sits lower than the interstate.
Board members split over the height. Several members supported a full 60‑foot sign for visibility reasons; others objected to the precedent of allowing pole signs in the MED district and urged a shorter structure. One member said the removal of the existing 50‑foot billboard on the parcel, combined with the site’s lower elevation, made a narrower rationale plausible.
After debate, the board approved three separate motions: permission for a pole sign in the MED zone, approval of a reduced maximum height of 52.5 feet (citing the billboard removal and site grade), and the requested area/size variance. The applicant confirmed the on‑site billboard would be removed as part of the proposal.
The board did not attach unusually broad exemptions; members asked staff to document narrow findings supporting the uniqueness of the site. The decision allows the applicant to move ahead with updated sign drawings reflecting the approved height and the removal of the billboard.
