The Villas at Fiori is a rental townhome development that will be constructed at the southeast corner of Spring Valley Road and Vitruvian Way (4030 Vitruvian Way). The development plans were approved for 85 rental townhome units in December 2021 with Ordinance No. 021-45. The building permits have been issued for this project and construction is anticipated to begin soon. As construction preparation is underway, the owner has begun the permitting process for signage for the site, which includes a new monument sign at the primary entrance. During the permit review process, staff determined that the proposed detached monument sign did not comply with the Town’s sign code.
The subject property is situated within the Vitruvian Park Special District of the Town’s sign code. The Vitruvian Park Special District specifies that monument signs shall be constructed as shown in Figure 62.289.7 and Figure 62-289.7.B. It also specifies the location a monument sign shall be placed, as shown in Figure 62-289.8 and Figure 62-289.8.B. The monument sign design requirements illustrate a gateway sign for the Vitruvian Park neighborhood. The required placement is at the southwest corner of Spring Valley Road and Vitruvian Way. The proposed monument sign does not comply with the design or placement requirements of the Vitruvian Park Special District.
The proposed monument sign structure is 69.5 inches tall and 155.25 inches long, with a total area of 71.5 square feet. The sign face is 45.5 inches tall and 116 inches long with a total area of 36.7 square feet. The sign is proposed to be double sided and illuminated at night with white LED lights. The sign will be constructed of a fabricated aluminum material with a brick base that matches the exterior façade of the townhomes. The sign is proposed be located on the east side of Vitruvian Way within a landscape median onsite. It will be setback 20 feet from the property line.
The applicant is seeking a meritorious exception to allow deviations from the design and placement requirements for a monument sign at the Vitruvian Way entrance to the Villas at Fiori development.
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 criteria is met for a meritorious exception for the proposed monument sign. The current standards provided within the Special District for Vitruvian Park do not allow for the consideration of monument signs outside of what was accommodated in the previously approved master plan. When the subject property was rezoned, it allowed for a development form and character that typically accommodates monument signage. The monument sign for the Villas at Fiori will help guide traffic to the primary entrance of the development. Additionally, the design of the proposed sign is appropriate for this site as it meets the minimum standards for monument signs as defined in the base sign code. |