Committee Okay With Sign, Hesitant on Lights

A neighborhood council committee is okay with a City Square business affixing a new sign to the top of its building, but they’re more cautions about that sign being lit.

Bill Galvin, chair of the Basic Services Committee, told Charlestown Patch that two representatives of RSM McGladrey (located at 80 City Square) Wednesday to ask for permission to hang a backlit sign facing the offramp from the Tobin Bridge on the windscreen atop top the building.

The fencing conceals rooftop equipment, Galvin said, and the McGladrey representatives told the committee that the tax and consulting firm wanted the sign to enhance their brand recognition.

The committee recommended that the council approve the sign itself, Galvin said, but said approval of any lighting would have to go through the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals; after some research, Galvin said, Councilor Mark Rosenshein found that lighting the sign would require a variance.

Galvin said that the committee wasn’t necessarily opposed to the lit sign, but wanted the company to go through the proper channels and have the backlighting proposal aired at a well-publicized public meeting in Charlestown.

The neighborhood council has recently been criticized for how public notice was handled for hearings and meetings pertaining to the proposed .

Last night’s meeting, Galvin said, drew three attendees.

“I had [also] received one phone call in opposition,” he said.