The Leonardtown Planning and Zoning Commission says a proposed new entrance sign to St. Mary’s Hospital is too large. Instead they have recommended to the town’s appeals board a smaller sign. That board will hold a public hearing on the matter and decide whether a variance is warranted and if so for what size sign.
Hospital VP Mark Boucot presented a plan that called for an 85.85 square foot entrance sign on Route 5. That was almost three times the size of 32 square feet allowed in the town’s zoning ordinance. It was not until well into the meeting that it was discovered that the sign was really only 64 square feet and the extra square footage included the base of the sign which does not have to be included in the size calculation.
Boucot said many people miss the low hospital sign now at the Route 5 entrance and public safety necessitated a larger sign closer to the road. He said they also needed to include the hospitals new owner, MedStar, into the sign. He said other jurisdictions in which MedStar is located have less restrictive sign regulations.
The base does however raise the height of the sign to 9 feet 3 inches, which is also higher than the allowable eight-foot height limitation. There was much discussion about the tall Community Bank of Tri-County sign just down the street, but Town Administrator Laschelle McKay said the height was grandfathered and the actual square footage of the sign is within allowable limits.
The town council just recently changed the sign regulations within their zoning ordinance to allow digital LED signs on Route 5. The proposed hospital sign includes an LED display. Boucot explained that the hospital wanted another method of informing the public about upcoming programs at the hospital.
The planners embraced the LED display but not the size of the sign. Chairperson Jean Moulds said allowing a sign of such a size would set a bad precedent for the newly approved sign regulations. She said it would be hard to disapprove other variance requests in the future. Member Jack Candella agreed, suggesting a compromise of 50 square feet but holding the height to eight feet. “I don’t think it is necessary to give two variances,” he said.
“The recommendation for 50 square feet and an eight-foot height will thus go the appeals board. They can embrace the planning commission recommendation, go along with the hospital request or come up with their own plan. They have the final say.
The planning commission did recommend going along with the hospital’s request for three other signs on the property that require a variance: a 50.3-square-foot sign at the end of the entrance road directing people to the emergency room; and two 41.9-square-foot directional signs, on Moakley Street and Miss Bessie Lane. No request is being made for a sign on Route 245 at this time, according to Boucot.
