The City of Shelbyville’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a high-rise sign and an electronic message board for a new Culver’s family restaurant at 1930 Morristown Road in Shelbyville.

The 100-foot sign will be visible from Interstate 74.

A proposal from Springfield Sign, the national sign company for Culver’s restaurant chain, also included an electronic message board on the high-rise sign but that drew distraction concerns from BZA members.

The electronic message sign is a critical part of Culver’s “way finding program,” according to the Springfield Sign representative at Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall. A special exception use for the property was needed for the electronic message board.

Over 30 minutes of discussion occurred debating the merits of which way the electronic message board would be pointed and how it would affect drivers.

The ownership group, S&L Properties Shelbyville, LLC, was agreeable to a standard ground-mounted electronic message board, according to the Springfield Signs representative.

A motion to vote on the approval of an electronic message board finally came to pass with stipulations that it not be on the high-rise sign; have a 15-minute hold time on changing electronic messages; would only operate 30 minutes prior to opening and 30 minutes after closing; a contact person and information would be declared in case of the sign faltering; and the monument sign must meet all standards set forth by the city.

Both sign special exceptions were approved.

The Board of Zoning Appeals closed the meeting Tuesday with a somber note after learning of the death Monday of local attorney James Lisher, who was a sitting member of the BZA for 13 years.

Plan director Adam Rude expressed the board’s condolences to the Lisher family.