L34 B1 BMBC MSP and Sign VARTown of Avon
Final Design Staff ortRep
August 6, 1996 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting
Report date
Sign type
Legal description
oning
Address
Introduction
August 2, 1996
Master Sign Program & Sign Variance
Lot 34, Block 1, Benchmark at Beaver Creek
Subdivision - Premier Maintenance Center
Industrial Commercial (IC)
0080 Metcalf Road
The applicants are proposing a Master Sign Program for the Premier Maintenance Center. The
property contains three separate buildings with individual businesses in each. As part of this
application, the applicants are requesting a variance to locate the project's freestanding joint
directory marquee sign in the ten (10) foot front yard setback. The marquee would indentify the
property in general and provide space for listing the various tenant businesses.
Variance Approval Criteria
According to the Town of Avon Sign Code, Section 15.28.090 Maintenance, Variances,
Construction Code, the Planning & Zoning Commission shall consider the following factors
before acting on a sign variance request.
1. The relationship of the requested variance to existing and potential uses and structures
in the vicinity.
The Premier Maintenance Center is located in the Metcalf Light Industrial District. Many of
the businesses in this district have project identification signage as well as signage
identifying the individual businesses themselves. The location of the proposed joint directory
marque allows the businesses located in the Premier Maintenance Center similiar signage
enjoyed by other businesses in the district. This proposed location also provides the the most
effective and aesthic location for the property.
2. The degree to which relief from the strict or literal interpretation and enforcement of a
specified regulation is necessary to achieve compatibility and uniformity of treatment
among sites in the vicinity.
Presently, the Premier Maintenance Center does not have signage identifying either the
property in general nor the individual businesses. As a result, the businesses located in this
project and their customers are at a disadvantage in terms of location recognition and
advertising. Placing the marque in the setback allows the businesses located in this project to
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August 6, 1996 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting
enjoy similiar and compatible signage to other businesses in the vicinity. The aesthic
advantages of placing the marque in the setback where landscaping treatments can be applied
to the sign will benefit not only this property, but the district as a whole.
3. Such other factors and criteria as the commission deems applicable to the requested
variance.
The best locatation for the joint directory marque is in the setback. This location will provide
the best visibility to persons traveling in their vehicles looking for the center and the
businesses located there. Locating the marque in the setback will also allow for landscaping
to be placed around its base, resulting in a more appealing appearance in comparision to
locating the directory sign on the south side of Building A.
(Please refer to the master sign program application packet for the applicants' responces to
the above criteria.)
Required Variance Findings
According to the Town of Avon Sign Code, Section 15.28.090 Maintenance, Variances,
Construction Code, the Planning & Zoning Commission shall make the following findings
before granting a variance:
1. That the granting of the variance will not constitute a grant of special privilege
inconsistent with the limitations of other properties in the vicinity;
2. That the variance is warranted for one or more of the following reasons:
i. The strict or literal interpretations and enforcement of the regulation would result
in practical difficulty or unnecessary physical hardship inconsistent with the
objectives of this title,
ii. There are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applicable to
the site of the variance that do not apply generally to other properties in the vicinity,
iii. The strict or literal interpretations and enforcement of the specified regulation
would deprive the applicant of privileges enjoyed by the owners of other properties
in the vicinity.
Design Review Considerations
According to the Town of Avon's Sign Code, Section 15.28.070 Design Review Criteria, the
Planning & Zoning Commission shall consider the following items in reviewing proposed
designs:
1. The suitability of the improvement, including materials with which the sign is to be
constructed and the site upon it is to be located.
The sign program proposes three sign types: one joint directory marque sign located at the
enterance to the property (requires a variance); signs over the entry doors to each tenant
space; and, optional signs on the entry doors to the tenant spaces. All signage materials and
deminsions appear suitable (please refer to the attached master sign program application).
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Lot 34, Block 1, Benchmark at Beaver Creek Subdivision, Master Sign Program & Variance Review, page 3
August 6, 1996 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting
2. The nature of adjacent and neighboring improvements.
Other business centers in the vicinity have similiar sign programs.
3. The quality of the materials to be utilized in any proposed improvement.
Materials for all three sign types appear suitable. The signs over each tenant space will be
metal white sheets with metal trim. The door signs will be white magnetic plastic. The
marque sign will be a''/z" white Omega Board mounted on wood posts (please refer to the
attached master sign program application for sign specifications and design).
4. The visual impact of any proposed improvement, as viewed from any adjacent or
neighboring property.
The visual impact of the signs over and on the tenant entry doors will be neglidible. The
freestanding joint directory sign located at the entrance to the property will be closer to
Metcalf Road than other similiar signs in the vicinity. However, this location provides the
optimal site for this sign not only in terms of visibility to persons traveling in their vehicles,
but provides the most aesthically pleasing solution through its intergration into the existing
mature landscaping.
5. The objective that no improvement will be so similar or dissimilar to other signs in the
vicinity that values, monetary or aesthetic, will be impaired.
The proposed master sign program should not affect either the monetary or aesthitic values of
other signs in the area.
6. Whether the type, height, size, and/or quality of signs generally complies with the sign
code, and are appropriate for the project.
All proposed signs of the sign program comply with the sign code with the exception of the
location of the freestanding joint directory marque sign which requires a variance for its
location in the ten (10) foot setback. All signs also appear appropriate for the project.
7. Whether the sign is primarily oriented to vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and whether
the sign is appropriate for the determined orientation
The sign program is combination of tenant identification signs primarily oriented to
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of both the variance for locating the freestanding joint directory
marque in the ten (10) foot setback and approval of the master sign program itself.
Recommended Motions
Motion #1: Approve Resolution No. 96-5, granting a variance from the setback limitation for
freestanding signs as stipulated in Title 15, of the Avon Municipal Code.
Motion #2: Approve the Master Sign Program for Lot 34, Block 1, Benchmark at Beaver Creek
Subdivision as depicted in the master sign program application dated recieved July
23, 1996.
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August 6, 1996 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting
If you have any questions regarding this project or any planning matter, please call me at
949-4280 (extension 139), or stop by the Community Development Department.
Respectfully submitted,
George H. Harrison
Planner
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Lot 34, Block 1, Benchmark at Beaver Creek Subdivision, Master Sign Program & Variance Review, page 5
August 6, 1996 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting
Planning & Zoning Commission Action
❑ Approved as submitted Approved with conditions (noted below)
❑ Denied ❑ Tabled ❑ Withdrawn by applicant
Conditions of approval, reasons for tabling or withdrawal of application, or basis for denial (refer
to code or guidelines by number):
1. Resolution No. 96-5, granting a variance from the setback limitation for
freestanding signs as stipulated in Title 15, of the Avon Municipal Code.
2. The Master Sign Program for Lot 34, Block 1, Benchmark at Beaver
Creek Subdivision as depicted in the master sign program application
dated received July 23, 1996, as approved with the condition that the
existing south elevation of building "A" conforms to the master sign
program.
Signed:
Date
Jack Hunn, Chair
Attest: jj�%
'4zP 4tz� Date
Sue Railton, Secretary
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