In an effort to better promote the Brookpoint Inn, Ben Plickerd asked the Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals to allow him to erect an off-premise sign.

“We need more off-site signage,” said Plikerd, owner of the inn. “Twenty percent of people in this town do not know there’s a hotel here.”

The variance request by Brookpoint Holdings was to allow an off-premise sign to be located closer than 300 feet to public use and residential districts, and closer than 250 feet to an intersection. Plikerd said he hopes to attract more attention to the hotel, which is virtually unnoticed without visible signage in the area.

The variance request was one of four brought before the Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals Thursday night and one of two brought by Plikerd.

His second variance request was for Wawasee Plaza LLC, which would allow the change and alteration to a previously granted variance by allowing two additional residential apartments to be added to the existing approved uses. The property is located at 101 E. Main St. and is owned by Plikerd, who said he gets requests for apartments almost weekly.

In the other cases, the Pitka Club Inc. received approval for a commercial accessory building – 10 feet by 20 feet – to be constructed on an existing concrete slab five feet from the north property line. The property is located at 414 S. Sycamore St., which is the sight of the Knights of Columbus building. The club wants to put a storage shed on the property, but not attached to the building.

The final case, a petition by RWL Signs of Kalamazoo, Mich., was also approved. That variance will allow 528.64 square feet of signage to be replaced where the ordinance allows 200 square feet. The property is located at 1103 N. Indiana Ave. The property is the current site of Pamida, which was bought by Shopko, thus the new signage is needed.

There were no remonstrators for any of the cases that were presented.

The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 20, at Syracuse Town Hall.