TO: Chair and Planning Commission
FROM: George Burton, Planner
Eva Cutro, Community Development Director
Paul Michaud, Senior Planner
DATE: November 1, 2016
CONTACT:
Staff Contact
George Burton, 480-348-3525
End
AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of a proposed monument sign and building mounted sign at the Paradise Valley United Methodist Church - Minor Special Use Permit Amendment (SUP 16-05)
4455 E. Lincoln Drive (APN: 169-20-004C)
Background
BACKGROUND
Request
Paradise Valley United Methodist Church (PVUMC) requests a Minor Amendment to the Special Use Permit to replace an existing monument sign with a new sign and to add a sign on the existing sanctuary building.
§ Monument Sign
The new monument sign is located in the same location as the existing sign and adjoins Lincoln Dive. The sign is located in a roadway easement and is setback 7’ from the north property line (or 18’ from the curb) and 235’ from the east property line. The sign is dual faced, 89.34 square feet in size, and is 8’ tall. The monument sign consists of a planter base, a primary cabinet with the church name, and a cabinet with the Methodist cross.
The sign base is a masonry planter that will be painted a dark bronze color with non-illuminated address numbers. The primary cabinet is an internally illuminated aluminum cabinet with back light the letters which identify the church name and preschool. The primary cabinet will be painted a cream color and the letters will be painted a dark bronze color. Lastly, the cabinet with the cross is an aluminum cabinet with a faux rust finish and a halo-lit Methodist cross.
§ Building Sign
A sign with the address numbers and the Methodist cross will be placed on the north/front part of the existing sanctuary building. The aluminum numbers will have a MAP brushed finish with halo illumination. The numbers are 2’ tall and 6’3” wide. The Methodist cross is 4’7” tall and 2’9” wide with halo illumination. The existing sanctuary building is 30’ tall and setback 178’ from the north property line. The new address numbers and Methodist cross sign will be placed several feet below the top of the parapet (with an approximate height of 28’ tall).
History:
The church was annexed into the Town in 1961 and a Special Use Permit was issued in 1979. The Special Use Permit has been amended several times. The most recent amendment was approved in 2011. A summary of the most recent amendments is attached.
Proposed Stipulations
Any proposed stipulations can be discussed at the study session. Draft stipulations will be prepared in advance of the public hearing. The Planning Commission will need to take two motions, a motion to deem the application request is a minor amendment to the Special Use Permit and a motion to act on the application. The latter motion may be to approve, approve with stipulations, deny, or continue the application request.
Body
DISCUSSION/FACTS
General Plan/Zoning
The subject property has a “Public/Quasi Public” General Plan designation and is zoned “Special Use Permit - Public/Quasi Public” for a religious facility.
Sign Criteria
Except for lighting of signs, there are no sign requirements for non-residential uses in the Town’s Zoning Ordinance. Instead, the Town has sign guidelines. For “Public/Quasi Public” uses, the guidelines for a monument sign are as follows:
|
CRITERIA |
GUIDELINE (G) CODE (C) |
PROPOSED SIGN |
|
One ground sign at each principal entrance |
G |
The church property includes two driveways/entrances along Lincoln Drive. There is only one monument sign located between the two entrances. Also, there are walls located next to each entrance that have the address numbers on them. The existing monument sign will be replaced with a new monument sign. |
|
§ 8’ maximum height § Code does not address building signage |
G |
§ 8’ tall monument sign § 28’ tall building sign |
|
§ 32 square feet in sign area § Code does not address building signage |
G |
§ 89.34 sq ft monument sign § 25 sq ft building sign |
|
No moving or animated signs permitted |
G and C |
Signs will not have any components that flash, move, or are otherwise animated |
|
Changeable message |
G |
No changeable messaging is proposed |
|
Back lighting of freestanding letters limited to 100 lumens per square foot |
C |
Not identified |
|
Internally-illuminated signs limited to 0.75 foot-candles at property line |
C |
§ 0.75 fc monument sign § 0.50 fc building sign |
|
Indirect lighting of sign limited to two 75-watt incandescent bulbs (750 lumens) per sign side; bulb completely shielded from v and view at nearest property line, limited to 0.75 foot-candles at property line |
C |
Light source shielded for each sign. No indirect lighting. Back-lit and halo illumination proposed. |
Minor Amendment Criteria
Per the new SUP Ordinance effective November 22, 2009, a Minor Amendment to a Special Use Permit shall include any proposal which is not a Managerial Amendment and does not:
1. Change or add any uses; or
2. Increase the floor area of the project by more than 5,000 square feet or constitute an increase of more than 15% upon the existing or, if still under construction, approved floor area square footage of the affected SUP property, whichever is less, with any such increase to be measured cumulatively over a sixty month period; or
3. Have any material effect on the adjoining property owners that is visible, audible, or otherwise perceptible from adjacent properties that cannot be sufficiently mitigated; or
4. Change the architectural style of the existing Special Use Permit.
Zoning Ordinance Compliance:
The proposed improvements have varying degrees of zoning compliance. However, the following three items need addition evaluation and direction from the Planning Commission:
§ SUP Amendment
Due to limited visibility of the monument sign created by the existing landscaping and since the new signs are designed in keeping with the architectural elements of the campus, the applicant requests that the improvements be processed as a Minor SUP Amendment. The proposed improvements are compliant with a portion of the Minor Amendment SUP criteria since the new signs do not change or add any uses to the property, do not increase the amount of floor area, nor change the architectural style of the SUP. However, staff is recommending that this application be processed as an Intermediate SUP Amendment due to the size of the proposed monument sign (at 89 square feet in size) and the visibility of the signs (since signs are not designed to be visually mitigated).
§ Construction of the Sign
Staff recommends that the monument sign be designed and constructed as a “break-away” sign due to life/safety concerns created by the signs proximity to Lincoln Drive (e.g. hollow construction of the planter base, break-away anchors, etc.). However, the applicant’s engineer believes that break-away anchors are not practical due to the location of the planter in front of the sign columns (please reference the attached email from Simply Structural).
§ Light output
Due to the aluminum face of the sign lettering, the applicant has identified an estimated output of 0.75 foot candles for the monument sign and 0.50 foot candles for the sanctuary building sign. Although this is an additional expense, staff recommends that the applicant provide a photometric plan to verify the output of each sign.
Public Comment
Public notification is not required for the work study session.
Next Steps
Based upon the scope of improvements and the potential need for additional information, more work study sessions may be needed prior to scheduling a public hearing.
Attachments
Vicinity Map
Aerial
Summary of SUP Amendments
Narrative
Lighting Information Sheet
Aerial Site Plans with Setbacks
Monument Sign Detail
Building Sign Detail
Correspondence from Mike Wilda from Simply Structural
C: - Sarah Spradlin (Applicant)
- Case File: SUP 16-05