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2004-06-10Design Review Board Meeting Minutes - June 10, 2004 Page 1 CITY OF BEVERLY Public Meeting Minutes BOARD: Design Review Board SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: June 10, 2004 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Colleen Bruce, William Finch, Douglas Haring BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Jane Brusca OTHERS PRESENT: Leah Zambernardi RECORDER: Leah Zambernardi The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. 1. CVS/pharmacy, Open 24 Hours - Courtney Nawrot, Site Enhancement Services - 53 Dodge Street/North Beverly Plaza Ms. Courtney Nawrot approaches the Board with a request to install two wall signs measuring 29 feet, 3 inches by 6 feet and one wall sign measuring 12 feet, 11 inches by 18 inches to be placed on the new CVS building at North Beverly Plaza. Mr. Haring comments that the building is very close to the street and questions the need for having such large signs. He states that the store will have very high visibility. Ms. Bruce questions whether it is really necessary to have the words "open 24 hours" on the sign. She states this exceeds the purpose of a sign, which is to identify a business. Zambernardi states that the business is so close to the street that passersby would be able to tell by lighting and cars in the parking lot whether the business was open or not. Ms. Nawrot states that she disagrees that people will be able to tell whether the store is open and she notes that there are no store windows on the Dodge Street side of the building. Mr. Finch concurs that the signs are too big for the location and he comments that they should be reduced to the size, which is allowed by zoning. Ms. Bruce reads a letter of opposition into the record from Councilor-At-Large William Coughlin. Mr. Haring makes a motion to recommend approval of the signs with the following conditions: 1. that the sign measuring 12 feet 11 inches in length and 18 inches in height, located on the right side of the building facing Dodge Street (labeled "Left Elevation") is acceptable as presented; Design Review Board Meeting Minutes - June 10, 2004 Page 2 2. that the two additional wall signs, shown on the "Front Elevation" and "Right Elevation" are excessive and should not be approved. The DRB recommends that only one wall sign be allowed per primary facade that faces a public way, as is allowed by Zoning. With this in mind, the DRB suggested that the sign on the "Front Elevation" be reduced to those dimensions allowed by Zoning. The DRB also recommended that the third wall sign on the "Right Elevation" be eliminated altogether; 3. that all wall signs should read "CVS/pharmacy" only, and that the logo "OPEN 24 HOURS" should be eliminated from the signs. The Sign Ordinance, as amended, expressly states that the purpose of a sign is for identification of a business and the DRB found that the additional lettering "OPEN 24 HOURS" went beyond this requirement; 4. that the sign approval shall not include approval of signage for the drive-thru pharmacy as shown on the plans. Any proposal for drive-thru signage or other directional signage that is over 2 square feet must be submitted to the DRB for review and approval. Mr. Finch seconds the motion and it carries unanimously 3-0. 2. Winfrey's Fudge & Chocolates - Paul Cook, Divine Signs, Inc. - 45 Enon Street/Commodore Plaza Mr. Paul Cook of Divine Signs presents a proposal for a wall sign at 45 Enon Street. He states that the wall sign will measure approximately 40 inches in height and 18 feet in length. Mr. Finch notes that the drawing showed the sign letters intruding upon the border of the sign band. Ms. Bruce asks if the letters for "Winfrey's" could be further spaced out. Mr. Finch makes a motion to approve the sign with the conditions that the letters "Winfrey's" are adjusted slightly to the left and that kerning is applied to the letters to make them appear more spaced out. In addition, the Board requests that the size of the letters "Fudge & Chocolates" be reduced by 10 percent. Mr. Haring seconds the motion and it carries unanimously 3-0. 3. Nextel Authorized Representative - Paul Tripp, Classic Signs Inc. - 34 Cabot Street Mr. Paul Tripp comes forth with a proposal to install a roof sign and an awning sign at 34 Cabot Street. He states that the yellow color of the Nextel sign is part of their corporate trademark. He sites the Lanham Act and states that is illegal for the Board to require that they change their trademark. Mr. Haring states that the color of the signs is too bright. He adds that the business is located at a gateway to Beverly and the bright yellow color would be intrusive to the character of the area. Design Review Board Meeting Minutes - June 10, 2004 Page 3 Zambernardi states that roof signs are not allowed by Zoning. The only occasion that a roof sign would be allowed would be if the DRB approves a roof sign design or if a variance was granted. Zambernardi states that the DRB endorsed Downtown Design Guidelines in December 2003, which identifies the area of the business as a gateway to Beverly that deserves special attention. Mr. Finch comments that the design for the awning will cover the transom above the entrance door. He suggests a different style awning that would compliment the transom rather than cover it. Mr. Tripp states that the roof sign is grandfathered because they will only change the sign face. He states that he will agree to change the awning sign although Nextel is very adamant that the roof sign not change. The Board requests a legal opinion from the City Solicitor on the applicability of the Lanham Act to this application and whether or not the roof sign is grandfathered. The Board also asks the applicant to come back with a new design for the awning. This application is tabled until the July meeting. 4. Fish Hill Tavern - Brian Brinkers, Acme Sign Corporation - 104 Cabot Street (formerly Crackers) Mr. Brian Brinkers presents an application for a wall sign and a projecting right angle sign. He states that the wall sign will measure 20 inches in height and 10 feet in length. It will have yellow pastel and white lettering reading "FISH HILL TAVERN" on a green background. He states that the projecting right angle sign will measure 4 feet in height and 42 inches in length. This sign will also have yellow pastel and white lettering reading "FISH HILL TAVERN". He notes that the projecting right angle sign will have a gold leaf fish symbol. Mr. Haring states that it is an attractive sign. Ms. Bruce questions whether the green background color will be bright enough. Mr. Finch motions to approve the sign as presented. Mr. Haring seconds the motion and it carries unanimously 3-0. Approval of Minutes Mr. Finch motions to approve the minutes of the February 5, 2004 and the March 4, 2004 meetings. Mr. Haring seconds the motion and it carries unanimously 3-0. Design Review Board Meeting Minutes - June 10, 2004 Page 4 The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.