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CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
HEARING OFFICER: DEPARTMENT REPORT
June 23, 2008
2d. Reese Kitchens - Signage
The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approval:
Docket No. 08050005 V Section 25.07.02-09 (c) Maximum sign area
The site is located at 11145 N. Michigan Rd. It is zoned B-2, Heavy commercial and office uses.
Filed by David Gilman for Reese Kitchens.
General Info: The petitioner is asking for a larger
wall sign for an anchor tenant of the new outlot
building. The sign package only allows a 40 sq. ft.
sign for a tenant with 40 ft. of frontage and is set
back less than 200 ft. away from Michigan Rd.
Analysis: The request is for the anchor tenant to have
a sign that would be larger than the other tenants,
who w0uld be allowed the same size sign. For the
Michigan Rd. overlay zone, a tenant must have more
than 100 ft. of frontage to be allowed a sign larger
than 40 sq. ft. In this strip retail situation, we may
never see this case. This does seem to pose an
"unfair" advantage to the anchor tenant. The
proposed sign is 60 sq. ft. in area and will tit within
the proposed sign band of the tenant space. It will be
blue and red, internally illuminated and will be directly mounted to the building fascia. It will be 20 sq. ft.
greater than what the Sign Ordinance allows.
Findings of Fact: Maximum sign area.
. 1. The approval of this variance will not be injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and
general welfare of the community because: the proposed sign would be installed by a
professional sign company. The sign would only display the name of the business and would not
have an adverse impact on the morals or general welfare of the community.
2. The use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will be not
affected in a substantially adverse manner because: the proposed sign would market a retail
business similar to other retail businesses in the immediate area. The retail building is within an
integrated center.
3. The strict application of the terms of the Zoning Ordinance to the property will result in a
hardship in the use of the property because: the large space the tenant would occupy makes the
maximum sign area allowed difficult to read and out of scale with the building. The business
would not be as effective in marketing to the general public with a smaller sign.
Rccommendation:
The Dept. of Community Services recommends positive consideration of Docket No. 08050005 V after
all concerns have been addressed.