ZBA Continues Gardner School Sign Variance Hearing

Other Committee · Meeting of June 18, 2026

MILTON — The Milton Zoning Board of Appeals continued a hearing on sign permits for the Gardner School at 675 Blue Hill Avenue, finding insufficient hardship evidence for a request to set the project's monument sign 6.2 feet from the road instead of the required 15 feet. Board member Michael Brown said "the law on the variance is so strict and I just don't see that this application meets the standards," while Chair Kathleen O'Donnell said she was uncomfortable with "footings for a sign sitting in my stormwater system." Sign consultant Heather Dudko and project representative Chris Fassenden argued a rip-rapped drainage swale handling three to four acres of runoff left no better location for the sign. The board also leaned toward capping sign illumination to one hour before and after school hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., rejecting the applicant's request for lighting until 10 p.m.

Members voted unanimously to continue the hearing, tentatively targeting the week of July 6, 2026.

In the full story:

• Application Overview and Procedural Posture
• The Sign Proposal
• The Setback Variance and the Drainage Argument
• Precedent From Other Blue Hill Avenue Businesses
• The Lighting Dispute
• The Variance Standard: Board Debate
• Procedural Steps and Outcome
• Implications and What Is Next
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,924 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of June 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.