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BZA approves after-the-fact off-premises sign, adds development-triggered removal condition
Summary
Despite staff recommending denial, the board approved an after-the-fact special-use permit for an off-premises advertising sign owned by John Morrison, adding a condition to remove the sign if the property is developed, matching language from a prior Zember case.
The board approved SUSC59-2026, an after-the-fact special-use permit for an off-premises advertising sign on Market Street, and attached conditions intended to limit future impacts and ensure maintenance. Staff had recommended denial, saying off-premises advertising adversely affects community character and would be difficult to limit countywide.
John Morrison, who identified himself as one of the sign owners, told the board the sign had been on Market Street for about 15 years and was moved with the landowner's permission because the original lot owner plans to sell. "We moved it across the street with the permission of the owner... Didn't realize at the time that it would be a violation to move it," Morrison said.
Deputy county administrator Lee Pammett recommended the board add a condition used in a previous Zember case: that the sign be removed if the property is developed (the trigger could be approval of an engineered site plan or actual construction). The board approved the special-use permit with the recommended conditions and the added development-triggered removal clause to preserve options should the parcel proceed to rezoning or site development.
