The sign on the Bracewell Stadium property that bears an advertisement for Universal Therapy Group is no longer in violation of city code after the Burlington City Council approved changes to the city’s sign code during a Tuesday night meeting.
Those changes were not without controversy, however. One resident, Marlan McKee, spoke out against changing the rules for the entire city in order to accommodate the sign.
“We’re doing all of this because they put the sign there in violation of the codes,” said McKee, “So now we’re changing codes to make it legal. I have no problem with the sign, it just needs to be back where it belongs.”
The sign was originally not supposed to have a permanent advertisement, but it was added as the result of a design change mid-project after Universal Therapy donated $250,000 to the Bracewell stadium renovation project. The City Council also voted to change the zone from R-4 Residential to C-1 Commercial to allow Billboards on the Property at a previous meeting.
Mayor Shane McCampbell said that he “loved” the sign and was happy to take steps to accommodate the school district, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the council.
“Personally, I didn’t have a problem with the sign where it was at,” said McCampbell, “As far as the money and whatever the school had worked out with [Universal] Therapy…that’s their business. I was just glad to see the sign put up.”
The measure passed unanimously.
