U-Haul is asking Marion County officials to approve a variance request to allow the company to build 10 wall signs for its large facility in southwest Ocala.
A variance filed by Shaw Lee on behalf of U-Haul, Co., and property owner Brady Rome, will be reviewed by the Marion County Board of Adjustment during its regular meeting on May 5.
County records show that the variance application was first filed with the county on February 24.
The new U-Haul facility is situated on a 13.38-acre property located at 6615 and 6621 SW State Road 200 in southwest Ocala.
The Marion County Land Development Code currently states that three wall signs are allowed with a maximum of 96 square feet in the aggregated sign area. The variance asks for an increase of allowable signs at the commercial structure from three to ten.
The company is hoping to install seven wall signs on a 24,244-square-foot structure, as well as three wall signs on a separate, 8,816-square-foot building.
“This business is a storage center that has a lot of vehicular traffic that is present on the property with people coming and going to storage units, as well as loading and unloading. Larger signs are needed to make sure the customers are going to the correct building and entrance on the building for the safety of their customers. On such large buildings, the normal sign criteria does not allow for that,” reads a statement from the variance application.
It goes on to suggest that the request would bring the building up to the “normal brand standard for U-Haul’s standard sign package to be installed.”
The Marion County Board of Adjustment next meets on Monday, May 5, at 2 p.m. at the Growth Services Building Training Room (2710 E. Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala).