Cy-Fair Animal Hospital is a new veterinary clinic located within a multi-tenant building at 15003 Inwood Road. The tenant completed an interior remodel of the suite and has been issued a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy. During the sign permit review process, staff determined that the proposed attached sign did not comply with the Town’s sign code.
The subject property has four suites within the existing structure, and this clinic is located within Suite D. Due to the placement of the structure and the orientation of the tenant spaces, Suite D does not have any direct frontage along Inwood Road. The primary customer entrance is oriented south towards the adjacent property, limiting visibility from the roadway. To allow for an attached sign to be visible from the roadway, a projecting wall was constructed adjacent to Suite D. The face of this wall is 227 feet from the property line, and it projects 20 feet from the south building facade.
The proposed attached sign is 63 inches tall and 158.5 inches long, with an effective sign area of approximately 69 square feet. The top of the sign will be situated approximately 25 feet above grade. The sign letters are 30.5 and 11.1 inches tall and the sign logo is 63 inches tall. The sign includes the business name and logo and will be internally illuminated with white LED lights.
The applicant is seeking a meritorious exception to allow the proposed attached sign to exceed the maximum permitted letter/logo height and effective area. Per the Sign Code, the maximum permitted letter/logo height is 30 inches, with up to 50 percent of the sign letters permitted to be up to 25 percent taller, achieving a maximum height of 37.5 inches. The proposed 63 inch logo exceeds the maximum height requirement by 25.5 inches.
Per the Sign Code, this tenant space is allocated one square foot of effective sign area for each linear foot of tenant space frontage. Suite D is 45 feet wide, which would allow for up to 45 square feet in effective sign area. The proposed attached sign has an effective sign area of 69.3 feet, exceeding the maximum effective sign area by 24.3 feet.
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 this proposed attached sign. The term "Animal Hospital" is an essential component of the sign that significantly impacts the size and scale of the sign logo and lettering. Achieving full sign code compliance while maintaining the same wording for the sign would result in a poorly scaled sign that would be difficult for Inwood Road commuters to decipher. The sign is appropriately scaled for the building and is compatible with other signs in the Inwood corridor. |