About a month ago, the new Burger King sign was the main topic of discussion at Navasota City Council. At the June 10th meeting, council tabled the variance request for a new freeway pole sign for the restaurant.
On Monday night, the issue came back to the table. The owner, Jim Kolkhorst, provided his own style of monument sign, with the only variance being requested this time being the height of the monument sign. City ordinance allows a maximum of six feet of height on monument style signs, where Kolkhorst’s would be 25 feet tall. Community development director Guadalupe Diosdado explained the structure of the sign, saying it fits the vision of how monument signs are supposed to look.
“One thing I want to notate, on the LED sign portion, the dimensions on it are actually 24 square feet for the LED sign, which is the maximum allowed per our smart sign ordinance,” Diosdado said. “The fact that it does have a large base at the bottom really ties in with what a monument style sign is supposed to look like.”
The base of the monument sign will measure 12 feet across, with width of the base measuring in at 2 feet.
A big argument last month was the brightness of the electronic sign and its impact on the residential areas near the proposed restaurant. Councilman Josh Fultz asked Kolkhorst about the brightness and potentially limiting it, and Kolkhorst says it is possible, but the sign will not be bright anyway.
“I, personally, do not like the real bright ones, because it is distracting,” Kolkhorst said. “To even someone who is trying to read the sign, you just can’t read it.”
Councilman Fultz and Councilman Bernie Gessner then poked some Rattler-Cubs rivalry fun at Kolkhorst, who is a graduate of Brenham High School.
“And they will be able to put ‘Go Rattlers’ on the sign?” Fultz said.
“Yes,” Kolkhorst nodded.
“Even if we’re playing Brenham?” Gessner asked.
Kolkhorst responded with a laugh and said “even if you are playing Brenham.”
The council unanimously approved the variance for the new Burger King sign.