Benihana is a sushi and Japanese steakhouse that is currently remodeling the former Kobe Steaks Japanese Restaurant located in the Addison Walk retail center at 5000 Belt line Road, Suite 600. Benihana plans to open for business this summer and one of their remaining tasks for the project is to obtain permits for the installation of attached premise signage.
In January 2004, the Town approved a Special Sign District that established customized sign regulations for signage within the Addison Walk retail center. For attached premise signs, the Special Sign District established maximum letter heights based on the size and location of the storefront within the development. Benihana’s lease space is one of the largest and most prominently situated storefronts in Addison Walk. The Special Sign District allows for a more prominent treatment of this space by permitting a maximum letter height of 3 feet for attached premise signs on this façade.
Benihana has requested a meritorious exception to the sign code in order to permit a maximum letter height of 4 feet for their proposed attached premise sign. They believe this request is appropriate because the lettering appears too small for the Benihana brand and their proposed sign accommodates less sign area than the signage of the previous tenant.
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 does not believe that the hardship criteria of the Meritorious Exception requirements is applicable to this request. The Addison Walk Special Sign District already permits a letter height that is 6 – 12 inches taller than what would be permitted by applying the Town’s base sign regulations at this location. Approving larger lettering for this sign would result in a sign that is out of scale with all other attached premise signs in the well-established Addison Walk retail center, which currently accommodates attached premise signs ranging from 2 – 3 feet in letter height. |