Jakes Burgers is a restaurant chain currently renovating a restaurant space located at 14920 Midway Road, formerly known as Blue Goose Cantina, and is projected to be completed during the summer 2022. As the project nears completion, the owner has begun the permitting process for signage for the site, which includes an identification sign located above the entry of the building. During the permit review process, staff determined that the proposed attached wall sign did not comply with the Town’s sign code.
The proposed sign has a maximum letter height of 30 inches tall and its location on the building faces diagonally towards the corner of Midway Road and Beltway Road with setbacks of 112 feet from Midway, 84 feet from Beltway, and 122 feet from the corner of the intersection. Due to the setback from Beltway, the proposed letter height for the sign is greater than Town code allows.
Sign Code, Chapter 62 of the Code of Ordinance, regulates attached signage as follows:
(5) Maximum letter/logo height of attached signs shall not exceed twice the allowable effective area as specified in subsections (1) and (2) of this section. The street curb referenced in Schedule B shall be the street curb closes and/or adjacent to the property where the sign is to be installed. Maximum letter/logo height of attached signs shall be determined by Schedule A or Schedule B as follows:
Schedule A:
| Sign Height Above Grade (feet) |
Maximum Letter/Logo Height (inches) |
| 0-36 |
16 |
Schedule B:
| Horizonatal Distance of Sign from Street Curb |
Maximum Letter/Logo Height (inches) |
| 100-149 |
24 |
b. Not more than 50 percent of the letters in each individual sign height category in Schedules A and B may be 25 percent taller than the specified maximum letter/logo height.
Due to the sign’s proximity to Beltway and its height from grade being 14 feet, Schedule A of the Sign Code would need to be used. Per Section 62-163 (5) b, utilizing the allowance providing an additional 25% in height for 50% of the sign, the letter/logo is allowed to be a maximum of 20 inches tall if being measured from Beltway.
The applicant is seeking a meritorious exception to allow for the signage setback to be based off the setback from Midway Road. If measured this way, the setback would be 112 feet and allow for the letter/logo height to be 24 inches with 50% of the letters allowed to be an additional 25% in height, making the maximum allowable letter height of 30 inches, which is depicted on the plan.
The area of Midway Road between Beltway Road and Spring Valley has a daily traffic count of 42,216 cars, whereas the daily traffic count for Beltway Road is 3,798. This indicates that the majority of the traffic entering the restaurant will be from Midway Road.
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 exceptional circumstances or surroundings criteria is met for the proposed sign. Due to most of the restaurant’s customers entering and exiting from Midway Road staff believes that it is appropriate to allow for the signage to be based off of Schedule B of the Sign Code, allowing for 50% of the letters to be 30 inches in height to increase visibility from Midway. |