Dutch Bros Coffee is a drive-thru coffee shop that is currently under construction at 14280 Marsh Lane and is projected to be completed in early spring. As the project nears completion, the owner has begun the permitting process for signage for the site, which includes signs for the drive-thru service and walk-up window. During the permit review process, staff determined that the proposed attached wall signage did not comply with the Town’s sign code. Specifically, the quantity of requested attached wall signs does not comply with the Vitruvian Park Special District sign standards.
In 2011, City Council approved an amendment to the Town’s sign code in order to establish Special District sign standards for Vitruvian Park (Ordinance No. 011-001, and as amended by Ordinance No. 011-038). This special district applies to the entire ±120-acres owned by UDR, which includes the Brookhaven Village Shopping Center, where Dutch Bros Coffee will be located.
The sign provisions for the Vitruvian Park Special District were tailored to address a walkable mixed use development context, where buildings are oriented to directly engage the streetscape, and where building features are designed to support a more active pedestrian environment. The sign standards outlined in this special district were not tailored to address freestanding buildings with drive-thru service, which is the development context approved for Dutch Bros Coffee.
With the Vitruvian Park Special District sign regulations, attached commercial tenant signs are permitted as follows:
Town of Addison Code of Ordinances, Chapter 62 (Signs)
Section 62-289. – Special Districts
(g)(1) Attached Commercial Tenant Identification Sign:
a. Each commercial tenant may have one sign per 50 lineal feet of building frontage, with a maximum of two signs spaced a minimum of 25 feet apart.
b. The sign area is limited to one square foot of sign per lineal foot of building frontage up to a maximum of 200 square feet of total sign area with no individual sign exceeding 100 square feet in area.
c. The sign may project more than 18 inches from the building facade.
d. Signs projecting more than 18 inches from the building facade shall be located a minimum of eight feet above grade.
e. Signs shall be placed on exterior facades common with the tenant space.
f. Letters and logos below 36 feet above grade may have a maximum height of 26 inches.
The proposed Dutch Bros Coffee signs are generally consistent with signs that may be found on other freestanding commercial buildings in Addison where drive-thru service is provided. An example of this can be found at the recently opened Hawaiian Bros Island Grill at 3825 Belt Line Road. The signs proposed include a tenant identification sign on the upper portion of the north, south and east building facades, a logo sign on the west facades, and multiple menu signs on lower portions of the north and south facades, adjacent to the drive-thru line and walk-up order window.
Due to its unique model of service, Dutch Bros Coffee does deviate from a typical drive-thru service concept by providing additional menu signs to maximize communication with their customers. This condition results from Dutch Bros practice of having staff members traversing the site to take customer orders, in lieu of the traditionally used drive-thru speaker, while also accommodating walk up service. The additional menu signs are requested to best accommodate vehicle and walk up customer orders.
Due to this building only having 36.7 feet of building frontage on Marsh Lane, Dutch Bros Coffee is only allowed one attached sign with a maximum area of 36.7 square feet. With this request, Dutch Bros seeks a total of ten attached signs which comprise a total sign area of 138.8 square feet, exceeding the maximum by 102.1 square feet. The north and south facades are proposed to include four signs each, while the east and west facades are proposed to include one sign each. Due to the size of this building, where multiple signs are provided on a façade, the 25 feet of separation required by code is not achieved. Additionally, the logo sign on the west facade (Dutch Bros Coffee windmill logo) exceeds the maximum logo height of 26 inches by 33.5 inches.
As a result, the applicant is seeking a meritorious exception to allow for the following deviations from the Vitruvian Park Special District sign regulations:
- Allowance of nine additional attached signs;
- Allowance for spacing of signs less than 25 feet apart in accordance with the proposed plans;
- Allowance of an additional 102.1 square feet of cumulative sign area; and
- Allowance of an additional 33.5 inches of logo height for the logo sign on the west facade (Dutch Bros windmill logo).
The applicant is pursuing a Meritorious Exception to the sign code in accordance with the code provisions stated below:
Town of Addison Code of Ordinances, Chapter 62 (Signs)
Section 62-33. – Meritorious exceptions.
(d)(3) The council may consider appeals on the basis that such regulations and/or standards will, by reason of exceptional circumstances or surroundings, constitute a practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship or on the basis that the proposed improvement although falling under the definition of a "sign," constitutes art that makes a positive contribution to the visual environment.
Staff believes that the hardship criteria of the Meritorious Exception requirements is met for some of the proposed signs due to the challenges presented by applying the Vitruvian Park Special District sign regulations to a freestanding building with drive-thru services.
The Dutch Bros Coffee signs proposed at the upper portions of each building façade are consistent with signs that would otherwise be permitted in the Town. While the Dutch Bros branded windmill logo sign that is proposed for the west facade would not comply with the Town’s standard sign requirements due to the overall logo height, this sign is appropriately scaled to the building and presents similar conditions to what the Town recently considered with Galaxy FBO and the Addison Airport logo signage.
The quantity of proposed menu signs is above and beyond the standard signage that would be permitted at any other drive-thru facility in Town. The applicant has indicated that in addition to standard menu signs, the additional menu signs will be used for the promotion of monthly drink specials and charitable fundraising programs.
Staff believes that due to the nature of service operations, a single freestanding informational sign is appropriate at the north and south facades. Allowance of additional attached signs would not be consistent with conditions at other drive-thru facilities in Town and should not be approved. These needs may be better achieved by providing one larger sign on each facade, or through web or app-based advertising, as the Town’s sign code requires approval of a permit whenever a sign is modified. |