Springfield Board of Zoning Appeals members voted unanimously Monday evening to allow a pole sign that is 90 feet tall and 585 square feet per sign face. They also approved a second pole sign of 246 square feet per sign face and four directional signs that exceed current regulations for directional signs.
The signs are the company’s primary forms of advertisement, said Frank Ille, Love’s manager of development. Pointing out that the signs are expensive, he added “we don’t build them just for the fun of it.”
The signs must be legible from a quarter-mile away, Ille also said, the distance considered to be a safe exit from the interstate.
“To be an effective truck stop, it needs adequate signs in place,” BZA Chairman Frederick Tiffany said.
The biggest of the proposed signs is similar to one approved for a nearby location, but it is taller, said Bryan Heck, the city’s planning and zoning administrator. Some of the vegetation around the site is tall enough to require the larger sign, he said.
Work cannot be done during with the winter, Ille also said, so construction on the facility will start early next year, with completion expected by year’s end. The business is expected to create 60 jobs.
The location was chosen because of its attractiveness, the amount of traffic on I-70, the surrounding population that will support a planned restaurant, Ille said, and that the site is between existing stores in Richmond, Ind., and Zanesville, Ohio.
BZA members also approved a conditional use permit for a salon and spa at 1204 Villa Road and variances that will allow construction of 34-foot high historic carriage house at 741 S. Limestone St. and a covered porch at 1704 Portage Path.
No opposition was voiced during the public hearing for any of the requests.
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