BLYTHEWOOD – The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) is scheduled to meet Monday evening to hear the appeal of an administrative denial for multiple signage on a commercial property on Blythewood Road. The meeting was rescheduled from July 14 when the Board could not convene for lack of a quorum.
The appeal is being brought by Sandy Khan, owner of the State Farm Insurance office located in front of the IGA on Blythewood Road. In May, Khan asked former interim Town Administrator Jim Meggs to allow her to place two signs on her property – one for her insurance business and a second for the Chamber of Commerce and Visitors’ Center, both of which are located in a building at the back of Khan’s property. That building also houses the Blythewood Artists Guild, and all three offices rent space from Kahn. Meggs denied the request.
There are currently four signs on the property – a large sign on the front of the property that advertises State Farm Insurance, the Blythewood Artists Guild and the Visitors’ Center; an approximately 3×4-foot free-standing sign at the back of the property advertising the Blythewood Artists Guild; a smaller sign in the side window of the Guild and an approximately 3×3-foot sign on the front porch of the Guild. An additional sign for the Chamber and Visitors’ Center would bring to five the number of separate signs on the property.
In a memorandum dated July 11, Meggs updated the BZA on the issue, explaining that, “Only one sign is permitted.” Kahn is appealing the decision to the BZA, saying she feels that because two of her tenants (the Chamber and Visitors’ Center) are civic organizations, they should be exempt from the requirements of the sign ordinance that other businesses in the town must follow.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Manor.
