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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 04-27-20 4 CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DEPARTMENT REPORT APRIL 27, 2020 (V) Zotec Partners Signage. The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals: 7. Docket No. PZ-2020-00024 V Bridges PUD Z-550-11, Section 9.4.B Roof/Ground sign types not allowed, Ground Sign requested. 8. Docket No. PZ-2020-00026 V UDO Section 5.39.C.7 Sign only allowed on accessory structure when structure is less than 8-ft tall and sign is less than 3 sq. ft., 111 sq. ft. wall sign on east façade of parking garage requested. The site is located at the southeast corner of Illinois St. and Fidelity Way, at 1 Zotec Way. It is zoned Bridges PUD/Planned Unit Development (Ordinance Z-550-11). Filed by Doug Staley Jr. of Staley Signs on behalf of the owner, ZP Investments, LLC. General Info: The Petitioner seeks variance approval for a ground sign for the site, as well as variance approval for a wall sign on their parking garage. Please see the Petitioner’s info packet for more detail on the variance request. Analysis: The Zotec development is around 7.5 acres in size. The site is zoned Bridges Planned Unit Development, and the development standards allows for 20 sq. ft. Directory signs. One Directory sign will be located east of the entrance drive that comes off of Zotec Way. Another sign is proposed along Illinois St., just north of the entrance driveway that is located south of the office building. The proposed sign is 48.37 sq. ft. and exceeds the size limitations to be permitted outright as a Directory sign; a variance is needed to allow a Ground sign type, which is not permitted in the Bridges PUD. The Ground sign is meant to complement the building architecture, size, and materials. For example, the cabinet portion of the sign will be made with frosted glass, similar to the office building, and the overall size transforms the sign into a site feature - not just another sign. The proposed Ground sign will meet all other requirements: • Illumination: LED lights will be installed behind a frosted glass. This will illuminate the entire “cabinet”. This is a nicer material than the typical acrylic used for Ground sign and is necessary because glass is being used. The sides or edges will be filled in so excess light does not spill out around the sign. • Landscaping: A landscape plan will be submitted during the Sign Permit process. (Permits will not be issued without a compliant plan.) • Sign Base: Two options were presented for the Directory and Ground Sign bases. The base will need to be the same width and depth and the sign face. (Petitioner, thank you for providing the updated rendering.) • Sign Location: The sign is 5’ from the street right-of-way line and sidewalk. The sign is not with the Vision Clearance Triangle. Per the Bridges PUD Ordinance, Zotec would be allowed two total wall signs on the office building. They would like to trade the second wall sign location allowed on the office building and have it moved over to the parking garage. The Carmel Sign Standards require signs to face street rights of way. The Zotec site has street frontage on Illinois Street and on Zotec Way; it does not have frontage on Meridian Street. However, the Bridges PUD ordinance allows for a wall sign on an office building to face any direction; it does not have to face a street frontage. Please note that the PUD ordinance allows wall signs on a main building, not on an accessory building. The Petitioner seeks approval to place a wall sign on an accessory structure (parking garage). The Carmel sign ordinance only allows for a sign on an accessory structure only when that structure is less than 8-ft tall and the 5 sign is less than 3 sq. ft. in area. The Petitioner requests a wall sign on a 45’4” tall parking garage structure, and the proposed square footage of that wall sign is 110.83 sq. ft. and fits within the Spandrel Panel requirements (55.26% height and 79.83% width). For Planning Staff, the concern with the wall sign on the east face of the parking garage is twofold: the sign would be placed on an accessory structure, and the sign would be facing east - the site does not have street frontage on Meridian Street (it only has street frontage on Zotec Way (north) and Illinois Street (west).) It is not in the City’s plan to permit signs on accessory structures. If you drive around town, you will not see signs on any gas station canopies, outbuildings, or other accessory structures. The Planning Dept. does not want this petition to start a new ‘trend’. With newer parking garage structures, Staff works to incorporate unique artistic elements into the design, or incorporate the garage into the surrounding development. This is evident in City Center, Midtown, and the future Franciscan Orthopedic Hospital site. The Zotec parking garage incorporates glass fins resembling aspen trees to dematerialize the structure’s use. Adding a sign would take away from these unique elements. While the parking garage is connected to the office building, it is still an accessory use. It was suggested by Planning Staff that perhaps the wall sign can be placed on the east facing portion of the screen wall on top of the office building (or even on the east facing wall of the office building), rather than on the parking garage accessory structure. The Petitioner does not think that is an adequate option. A wall sign is also proposed on the northwestern façade of the office building and meets the standards for the Bridges PUD and the Carmel Sign Standards. The Petitioner addressed all planning/zoning review comments, and the Planning Dept. supports th e variance request for the ground sign, but does not support the request for the wall sign on the parking garage. Petitioner’s Findings of Fact: Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet. Recommendation: The Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket Nos. PZ-2020-00024 V (ground sign type), but recommends negative consideration of Docket Nos. PZ-2020-00026 V (sign on accessory structure).