Historic Zoning Commission
Market Square H-1: Level I
10-K-14-HZ
Staff Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION FROM 10-16-2014: Staff recommends dividing the sign into two smaller signs of 6 square feet or less each, mounting one on each of the two facades.
RECOMMENDATION FOR 11-20-2014: STAFF RECOMMENDS AGAINST PROVIDING A WAIVER TO THE DESIGN GUIDELINES UNLESS FINDINGS OF FACT ARE SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH TO WARRANT. THE COMMISSION WOULD NEED TO AGREE WITH FINDING NUMBER 7 ABOVE, OR PRESENT ANY NEW FINDING THAT JUSTIFIES THE WAIVER OF THE GUIDELINE WHICH RECOMMENDS THAT PROJECTING SIGNS BE NO LARGER THAN 6 SQUARE FEET. IF APPROVED, THIS LARGE SIZE OF SIGNAGE WOULD BECOME AN OPTION TO THE OTHER 3 BUILDINGS IN MARKET SQUARE THAT ARE LOCATED ADJACENT TO CITY STREETS. THIS IS BECAUSE SIMILARLY SITUATED BUILDINGS MUST BE TREATED SIMILARLY IN ORDER FOR THE HZC TO BE CONSISTENT WHEN UTILIZING PERTINENT FINDINGS IN REVIEWING FUTURE SIGNAGE REQUESTS ON MARKET SQUARE.
Applicant Request
Level I. Installation of signage
Mount sign on a 45-degree angle from the corner of the building, constructed of wood and sealed with an all-weather Spar-Varnish protective treatment used on wooden ships. Secure with steel brackets and framing and secured into steel I-beams inside of the building. Sign to include a top header panel slightly wider than the other six. The remaining six panels will be a uniform 24" wide with some slight variance in the 1.15-foot height. The seven panels together total 9.45 sq feet.
Site Info
Victorian Vernacular Commercial, c. 1870 (altered)J. F. Horne building. Two-story brick with second-story windows with arched window lintels (blocked in on north elevation). Altered storefront and north elevation (1960). J.F. Horne & Bros., a tobacco and liquor store, occupied this building from 1876 to 1905, when it became a restaurant and confectioners. From 1920 until at least 1965, it was known as the Gold Sun Café, and has remained in restaurant use. (Contributing)
1) The guidelines recommend that one secondary sign (two signs total) per façade be allowed, not to exceed 6 square feet each.
2) The building has an approved, existing, flush-mounted sign board on the front facing Market Square, and also one facing Wall Avenue. These signs serve as the primary sign boards for these facades, so a second sign, not to exceed six square feet, is recommended as allowable under the guidelines.
3) The secondary hanging sign is proposed to be a total of 11.7 square feet. Although eight individual panels comprise the sign, the eight are considered to comprise only one sign since the panels are connected (according to City Building Inspections). (THE SIGN PANELS HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO A TOTAL OF 9.45 SQUARE FEET, AND THE NUMBER REDUCED FROM 8 TO 7 PANELS.)
4) The measure of square footage is not doubled for signs with text on the front as well as the back (double-faced) according to the signage code: Sec. 10. - Signs, billboards, and other advertising structures-- A (18): A sign designed to be viewed from two different directions shall be considered as one sign, provided that the two sign faces shall not be more than forty-two inches apart if parallel, nor form an angle of more than ninety degrees.
5) THE SIGN IS PROPOSED TO BE MOUNTED ON THE CORNER OF THE BUILDING AT A 45-DEGREE ANGLE TOWARD WALL STREET.
6) THERE ARE 3 OTHER BUILDINGS IN MARKET SQUARE (LOCATED ON EACH OF THE OTHER 3 CORNERS) THAT ARE ADJACENT TO A PUBLIC CITY STREET. THIS FINDING MAKES THESE AND THE SUBJECT BUILDING LOCATIONALLY UNIQUE FROM THE OTHERS LOCATED INTERNALLY IN MARKET SQUARE.
7) SIGNS MOUNTED ON CORNERS ADJACENT TO STREETS AT THE ENDS OF MARKET SQUARE MAY CONTRIBUTE SOMEWHAT LESS TO SIGN CLUTTER THAN THOSE LOCATED INTERNALLY ON MARKET SQUARE.
