Boulder restricts town-facing signs on new Town Pump

The new Town Pump currently under construction in Boulder will have minimal illuminated signage on the sides of the building that face residential areas, according to zoning ordinance variances granted by the Boulder Board of Adjustments on Jan. 26.

The board issued separate variances for signage proposed for each side of the new building, located behind the current Town Pump at the north end of Main Street near the Boulder exit on Interstate 15. The west and south sides of the building, which both face residential areas, will each feature only one illuminated sign—a fraction of the multiple illuminated signs originally proposed for each side—according to variances the board approved for those two sides. The board further required that the signs be lit by “gooseneck” lights that overhang the tops of the signs and shine light down and back toward them, rather than the originally proposed internal lighting that would emit light from within a sign.

The board approved variances allowing multiple signs to be installed as proposed on the north and east sides of the building, which face the interchange and Main Street, respectively, and which will both face fuel pumps under lighted canopies. The board also allowed the Town Pump’s two existing standalone signs—an 80-foot-tall sign and a shorter sign—to remain.