DATE: October 11, 2018
TO: Members of the Northfield Heritage Preservation Commission
FROM: Scott Tempel, City Planner
Title
Sign Permit - KAHLO - 306 Division
Body
ACTION REQUESTED:
Request for HPC to approve signage at 306 Division St. S.
SUMMARY:
Kahlo restaurant is requesting signage for its new store at 306 Division St. S. They would like to install a wall sign and projecting sign on the front of the building. The applicant will be bringing the actual letters to the meeting for inspection. The applicant came to the commission in July with a different signage proposal, but was denied. In the interim, they have been using window signs.
Direction from the HPC at the last meeting was for the applicant to use the smaller letters on the existing sign board, rather than attach individual letters to the brick. Slightly different letters are now proposed. The Kahlo name matches on both signs. Fr. Denny of St. Dominic’s made the projecting sign for Maria and mistakenly hung it right away. Staff allowed the sign to stay up until the HPC meeting.
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. The signs will be located above the storefront windows and projecting from the building.
3. Sign Shape: Signs shall be designed to match the historical time period elements and regional location of the City, which primarily exclude such features as cut corners and non-rectangular shapes. In most cases, the edges of signs shall include a raised border that sets the sign apart from the building surface or hanging space. Individual raised letters set onto the sign area surface are also preferred.
Staff response: The signs meet shape requirements. The projecting sign is generally rectangular in shape with a raised border and raised lettering. It is the same shape as a projecting sign on the neighboring building, but inverted. Lettering for the wall sign consists of individual 3D letters to be placed on the existing sign board which has a raised border. This building does not have the typical beltcourse of other period buildings.
4. Colors: Sign colors shall coordinate with the building façade to which the sign is attached and shall be compatible with the property’s use. A combination of soft/neutral shades and dark/rich shades are encouraged in order to reflect the historical time period. No more than two colors shall be used for the sign letters.
Staff response: The signs meets color requirements. The proposed letters are a muted off-whiter. The projecting sign has a dark background.
5. Material: Signs and sign letters should be made of wood or metal that is in keeping with the corresponding historical time period of the building. Brackets for projecting signs shall be made of iron or other painted metal, and shall be secured at the top of the sign and anchored into the mortar, not the masonry.
Staff response: The signs meet the material requirements. The projecting sign is made of wood with raised wooden letters. Installation of the signs will not affect the brickwork.
6. Message: The sign message shall be legible and shall relate to the nature of the business. These requirements may be accomplished through the use of words, pictures, names, symbols and logos.
Staff response: The signs meet message requirements. The signs are legible and relate to the business.
7. Lettering: Lettering styles shall be legible and shall relate to the character of the property’s use and the era of the building. Lettering shall preferably include serif rather than strictly block type styles. Each sign shall contain no more than two lettering styles, and the lettering shall occupy no more than approximately 60% of the total sign area.
Staff response: The signs meet lettering requirements. The lettering is legible and relates to the era of the building. The lettering style employs serifs.
8. Illumination: External illumination of signs is permitted by incandescent or fluorescent light, but shall emit a continuous white light that prevents direct shining onto the ground or adjacent buildings. Exposed neon signs shall be permitted when installed inside windows of the interior of the building. The use of internally lit signs, such as but not limited to backlit plastic, is not permitted. Exceptions to this guideline shall be allowed for public service, time/temperature and theater signs.
Staff response: The signs meet illumination requirements. The signs will not be illuminated.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness.