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Item # 10.

Work Session and Regular Meeting

Meeting Date:	03/26/2019
Department:	Public Works

AGENDA CAPTION:

Present, Discuss, and Consider Action on an Ordinance Granting a Meritorious Exception for Lupe Tortilla, Located at 4535 Belt Line Road, from the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 62 Section 62-163. – Area, in Order to Permit a Sign Exceeding the Allowed Letter/Logo Height Requirement.

BACKGROUND:

Lupe Tortilla is a Mexican restaurant with multiple locations centered around the Houston, Austin, and San Antonio areas, and that is expanding into the North Texas market. In 2018, the company purchased the former Romano's Macaroni Grill building located at 4535 Belt Line Road.

Lupe Tortilla is proposing a sign that is at 16 feet 3 inches above grade and is setback about 70 feet from Belt Line Road. Based on this location, the sign must comply with Schedule A of Section 62-163 of the Sign Code that requires letter/logo heights of up to 16 inches tall with an allowance that 50% of the letters or logo can be up to 20 inches tall. At the March 12, 2019 Council Meeting, Lupe Tortilla presented a meritorious exception requesting that they be allowed to include a 57 inch tall pepper logo in their sign.

The Code states that meritorious exceptions should be considered on the basis that the Town's standard requirements, "by reason of exceptional circumstances or surroundings, constitute a practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship." Based on this, staff recommended denial of the request and suggested that a monument sign would be an allowable solution to Lupe Tortilla's visibility concerns.

During the March 12, 2019 Council Meeting, Council tabled this item and directed staff to negotiate a compromise with Lupe Tortilla regarding the size of the pepper logo. The Council also requested that any proposed solution be justifiable and formulaic. Based on this, Staff utilized precedent from the prior Meritorious Exception approval for a 40 inch pepper logo for Chili's Grill & Bar and developed a formula that would allow two additional inches for letter/logo elements for every five additional feet a building is set back from the street starting at 25 feet. Based on current zoning requirements, it is highly unlikely that a building would ever be closer than 25 feet from Belt Line Road. This formula results in the following scale:

Distance from Street (feet)	Typical Letter/Logo Height Allowed (inches)	Proposed Letter/Logo Height (inches)
25	16	16
30	16	18
35	16	20
40	16	22
45	16	24
50	16	26
55	16	28
60	16	30
65	16	32
70	16	34
75	16	36
80	16	38
85	16	40
90	16	42
95	16	44

The Chili's sign is located approximately 85 feet from the street and was allowed through a Meritorious Exception to be 40 inches in height. The proposed scale aligns with this measurement. The Lupe Tortilla sign is located 70 feet from the street. Based on this scale, staff is suggesting that the pepper be allowed to be 34 inches tall. Lupe Tortilla is agreeable to this compromise.

RECOMMENDATION:

Administration recommended denial of the original meritorious exception request. Based on Council's direction to explore a compromise between the typical ordinance requirements and the original request, Staff and the applicant have agreed upon the proposed 34 inch pepper logo. This accommodation would only be applicable to this property. Staff requests additional direction from Council.

Attachments
Ordinance - Meritorious Sign Exception - Lupe Tortilla