ThisWeek CW 05/23/2012

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2012/05/22/cw-planners-reject-dental-complexs-mcdonalds-signs.html

McDonald’s and the new Diley Ridge Dental office were not able to secure the business signs the companies’ representatives had wanted during the May 14 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The McDonald’s on Gender Road was recently demolished to make way for an all new building and site layout, expected to be completed within 90 days, according to company officials.

The proposed signs for the new building included nine exterior wall signs for a total of 177 square feet.

City zoning code only allows four exterior wall signs with a total of 175 square feet.

“Staff recommends this zoning variance be denied,” Planning and Zoning Administrator Andrew Dutton said.

“Basically, we suggest (McDonald’s) take the signs from nine down to six, they can distribute them however they want but two of the six have to be the welcome signs.”

According to submitted plans, two welcome signs, approximately 2 square feet each in size, will be placed above each entrance door.

The other signs include the McDonald’s script and the “M” arch, as well as a reader board for posting custom messages.

Ellen Baumann with the GPD Group represented McDonald’s at the meeting.

“We were going off the existing signage that was there before the building was demolished,” Baumann said.

“This is the McDonald’s branding,” she said.

“We’re in the middle of construction right now, so if you only want six signs then we’ll have to take it to McDonald’s to decide how they want to proceed.”

Dutton said that the recently demolished McDonald’s building was built prior to the current zoning for signs being in place.

Commissioners voted to approve the sign variance per the staff’s recommendations, that the two welcome signs and four of the other proposed signs be allowed.

Diley Ridge Dental owner James McCray requested a variance to the Meijer Development Text to allow his business to install a monument sign in front of the new dental office under construction on one of the 13 out-lots associated with the Meijer property off of Diley Road.

“This came up because the large monument sign for Meijer itself was supposed to be the only monument sign associated with the properties, according to our original discussions about the Meijer Development Text,” Dutton said.

“Staff recommends this application be denied since it doesn’t fit within the text. If it is approved, then we should amend the Meijer Development Text to allow this at all of the out-lots.”

McCray said his contract with Meijer for the land stated specifically that he would be allowed to have a monument sign.

“I see an individual monument sign as being effective,” he said.

“Every day, I have people stopping to ask what we’re building,” McCray said.

“I sent (Dutton) the section from my contract about monument signs,” he said.

“The nature of my business isn’t stop-in, it is by appointment, so I need potential patients to get my phone number and information.”

Commissioners said that they felt approving this monument sign would set a precedent for all 13 out-lots and that they would rather have a chance to reconsider the full development text then deal with each singularly.

“They’ll still be allowed wall signage,” said Mike Vasko, a commission member.

“We were concerned (when the development text was written) that it would look like a funeral with all these monument signs running down the outlots,” commissioner Mike Vasko said.

“We traded off with Meijer for the larger monument sign in front of their store, at that time Meijer didn’t care about the out-lots, they just cared about the Meijer.

“We have to look at the bigger picture so I’m comfortable with you just having a wall sign,” Vasko said.

The commissioners voted to deny the application for the monument sign, but they said they would take time to review the Meijer Development Text and consider modifications to what signage is allowed.

If changes are made, McCray would be allowed to submit a new signage application.

“I think it’s going to be hard to attract businesses down to the out-lots there without more signage, I’m the first, and it’s been six years,” McCray said.

The next scheduled Planning and Zoning Commission meeting is 7 p.m., Monday, June 11, in the Canal Winchester Town Hall, 10 N. High St.