Planning Board approves pylon business signs for Turnpike/Milk Street properties with waivers

The Planning Board approved related special permits to allow consolidated pylon business signage for properties with shared access at 218/220 Turnpike Road and 159/161 Milk Street, finding that shared wayfinding reduces freestanding sign proliferation.

Staff and board members worked through confusing address references and asked the applicant to clarify which parcel is the primary land title; the board changed the permit language to refer to "pylon business signs" rather than "street signs" and to clarify that the sign will reference both 218 and 220 Turnpike addresses and allocate placards among 159 and 161 Milk Street. The board made waiver findings under the sign bylaw (including section 8.2 f and lot-line setback waivers under section 8.2 c) to allow a pylon approximately 11 feet from a lot line rather than the 35-foot standard.

Planning staff and the community-development director confirmed a satisfactory agreement exists among owners allocating sign placards. The board voted to accept the findings and later voted to approve the special-permit decisions and close the public hearings. The findings motion passed unanimously (5'0to'nothing) during the meeting.

Why it matters: the waivers permit a larger, closer freestanding pylon sign than the bylaw otherwise allows; the board conditioned approvals on clarified addresses and language updates so the decision record matches the physical sign and ownership agreement.