DATE: April 19, 2018
TO: Members of the Northfield Heritage Preservation Commission
FROM: Scott Tempel, City Planner
Title
Sign Permit for Armory, 519 Division
Body
SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED:
The HPC is requested to approve signage at 519 Division Street.
BACKGROUND:
The Armory Event Center is requesting a new wall sign and a ground sign for the Armory building. We have a unique situation here because the property has been designated a local preservation site, but has not yet been officially amended into the Historic District. The HPC has review authority for the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA), but, since the property is not yet in the Downtown Historic District Overlay zone, we must allow signage that would otherwise be conforming in the C1 Downtown district. The analysis below will detail which C1 regulations come into play along with the Historic District regulations.
The applicable sections of the Downtown Historic District regulations in the sign ordinance include the following (Staff response is shown in bold):
1. Placement: Signs shall be positioned so they are an integral design feature of the building; signs shall complement and enhance the architectural features of the building. They shall be placed so that they do not destroy architectural details such as stone arches, glass transom panels, or decorative brickwork. Unless other placement is specifically approved by the Heritage Preservation Commission for reasons stated in the certificate of appropriateness by the Commission, signs may be placed only as follows:
a. At or above the horizontal lintel, cornice, or beltcourse, or above the storefront windows;
b. Projecting from the building;
c. Applied to or painted on canvas awnings;
d. In areas where signs were historically attached.
Staff response: The signs meet placement requirements. Ground signs are allowed in the C1 zone district. The proposed ground sign meets the C1 standards and the HPC is allowed to approve altern...
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