Saugus family sues ZBA over message board decision

SAUGUS-Sara, Andrew and Scott Cogliano of Cogliano Plaza have sent the Zoning Board of Appeals a sign they are not giving up in their quest to put up a lighted electronic message board.The Coglianos filed a lawsuit against the ZBA seeking to overturn its decision, which denied the plaza a special permit to change its sign.The group applied to replace the plaza’s 4-by-12 foot existing manual “reader board” with a 4-by-10 foot electronic message board. The letter board would have a black background with amber lettering, which according to court documents, a sign company representative testified would actually dim the brightness of the letters for no glare.The Coglianos also testified that the sign would change no more than twice over a 24-hour period so as to not distract drivers.According to meeting minutes, ZBA member Robert Cox noted that the area is exclusively residential and he thought a reader board would be distracting on busy Lincoln Avenue.ZBA Chairman Catherine Galenius also pointed out that Scott Cogliano, as the Plaza’s manager, was already in violation of a previous variance when he added two more panels to the sign that lists the tenants of the plaza.”The Board granted a special permit to allow for five panels for five tenants,” the minutes state. “Now there are seven panels on the pylon, so you are in violation of the previous variance granted.”While ZBA member Ben Sturniolo made the motion to approve the sign, it was voted down 3-2.The Coglianos claim the board’s decision was not made on an appropriate basis. The board, according to the claim, failed to contain an explanation for its decision or include the discussion on how the decision applied to the town code.Lastly, the Coglianos argued that the proposed sign would not pose any safety issue because it would not only be less bright than the existing sign but would, in fact, reduce road glare.On that basis, the Coglianos are arguing that the ZBA’s decision should be voided and that the resolution allow them to erect the smaller lighted electronic board.