ThisWeek CW 07/05/2012
Diversity is a good thing when it comes to signs, according to some members of the Canal Winchester Landmarks Commission.
Members Brent Foley, Roger White and Joe Messerly said during the June 25 Landmarks meeting they would not favor a mandated, uniform sign style for the city.
The issue came up after Planning and Zoning Administrator Andrew Dutton said a resident had called him about making historic district business signs and historic district gateway signs more uniform.
“Bob Wood wanted to have a discussion about all of the signs in the downtown, to make them have a similar look,” Dutton said.
Landmarks Commission members were presented with pictures of carved, gold-leaf painted wood signs from Latrobe, Pa., that Wood took while visiting the town.
“He talked with me about how he noticed Latrobe had a standard look to their signs and he stopped by their Chamber of Commerce to get their signage plans to see if we could do it here,” Development Director Lucas Haire said. “A carved wood sign is going to be more expensive than metal and the Old Town Commission brought up the durability of the wood signs we already have.”
The city staff is currently taking an inventory of gateway signs in the historic district to determine which ones need to be repaired or if all of the signs should be replaced.
“Some of our signs are not feasible to repair at this point,” Haire said. “A number of them are patched together, so we’ll have to get information on the cost for that.”
Foley said he thinks signs should reflect the area.
“Architecturally, I think our downtown is more diverse than some, so I think it is important that our signage be more diverse as well,” Foley said. “A sign like this wouldn’t be appropriate for some buildings, like Hamilton Home Products or Village Wines.”
Commission president Patrick Lynch suggested forming a subcommittee to review the city’s current sign regulations.
“We should get a subcommittee together and see how other communities regulate their signage to figure out what is best for our businesses and community,” he said. “There’s got to be a balance.”
Three of the five applications members considered last week dealt with signs. The first was a request to allow a 21-square-foot sign on the front of Hamilton Home Products, 152 W. Waterloo St. The maximum allowable size for that location is nine square feet, according to city code.
Hamilton Home Products moved into the old Super Duper grocery store building, which is set back from the street behind a parking lot.
“The nine square foot of coverage was designed for zero-frontage buildings like you see downtown, but this building has a 60-foot or more setback and you can’t see their existing sign from Waterloo,” Lynch said.
Company representative Richard Lucas said the sign Hamilton Home Products would like to mount to the building is one that was originally installed at its 188 W. Waterloo St. location before the company moved.
The commission unanimously approved the larger sign; however, Hamilton Home Products will be required to repaint it in only three colors instead of the current four-color design, and must remove the existing smaller sign.
Two new awnings with signage were approved for Hope United Methodist Church, 83 E. Columbus St., as was a new freestanding sign for Supreme Realty, 20 E. Waterloo St.
The next Landmarks Commission meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, July 23, at Town Hall, 10 N. High St.