Hermitage Zoning Hearing Board has approved a variance for a day-care center that wants to rise above its circumstances.

Sean and Tammie McClafferty want to open the center at 1780 Maple Drive. Because of the topography, the property is in a gully below the sight level of motorists on South Hermitage Road.

In a high-density development residential district, the zoning ordinance allows a 10-foot-high sign.

A 20-foot sign would be "not much over the guardrail" along Hermitage Road, McClafferty said.