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New law office at 617 Swede Street granted wall-sign variance in R-2 district
Summary
Owner Sharif Dawson received a unanimous variance allowing a 20x24-inch metal wall sign for a law office at 617 Swede Street after telling the board he thought the lot was in the township center; the zoning code disallows wall signs in R-2 but the board approved the request 5-0.
Sharif Dawson, who said he purchased 617 Swede Street in February and intended to operate a law office there, asked the board for a variance to affix a 20-by-24-inch metal wall sign. Dawson told the hearing he believed the property was in the township center and that other law offices on the block display wall signage. He said he had no plans to light the sign and that it would be mounted between two windows where a decorative shutter currently sits.
Board members confirmed that R-2 zoning does not permit wall signs and that freestanding signage or window signage are the usual options. Dawson said building occupants had historically displayed a sign when the prior tenant, an attorney named Jim Lynch, occupied the property. The board held that the property functions commercially, considered the sign’s size and non-illuminated design, and after closing public comment voted to approve application 32-26 by unanimous vote.
