COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-0 to deny two variance requests concerning the new sign at the Coldwater Elks Lodge Wednesday afternoon. City Planner Dean Walrack said the vote was based on a failure to meet any of the five criteria for approval.
The Elks were asking for a six square foot dimensional area variance to maintain 38 square feet of freestanding signage as well as a variance from the City’s Zoning Code to maintain the freestanding sign at a height of 11 feet, nine inches.
The zoning code limits freestanding signage square footage to 32 square feet. Freestanding signs in the city can be no higher than six feet.
The Elks felt the sign added to the aesthetics of the area and their activities were not in competition with any other activity or business.
The Coldwater Historic District Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness on a 5-0 vote in October of 2017 so that the Elks could install a new electronic sign but the city’s Neighborhood Services Department has had some issues with the variances and they recommended they not be granted.
They wanted the sign built to the design approved by the Historic District Commission last year and as submitted to Neighborhood Services when the sign permit issued.
