APPLICATION NUMBER 5591 A REQUEST FOR SIGN VARIANCE TO ALLOW A TOTAL OF SEVEN WALL SIGNS FOR A TENANT IN A MULTI-TENANT COMMERCIAL SITE IN A B-3, COMMUNITY BUSINESS DISTRICT; THE ZONING ORDINANCE ALLOWS ONE WALL SIGN PER TENANT IN A MULTI-TENANT COMMERCIAL SITE IN A B-3, COMMUNITY BUSINESS DISTRICT. LOCATED AT 3725 AIRPORT BOULEVARD (South side of Airport Boulevard, 260 ± West of Montlimar Drive) APPLICANT FRAVERT SERVICES BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT JANUARY 2010
ANALYSIS APPLICATION 5591 Date: January 4, 2010 The applicant is requesting a Sign Variance to allow a total of seven wall signs for a tenant in a multi-tenant commercial site in a B-3, Community Business District; the Zoning Ordinance allows one wall sign per tenant in a multi-tenant commercial site in a B-3, Community Business District. This site is the Festival Center. Virginia College proposes to open a cosmetology and technical school in one of the suites, with part of the area serving as a retail cosmetology center for student practice. The applicants wish to place a total of seven wall signs at this site. The Zoning Ordinance states that no variance shall be granted where economics are the basis for the application. Furthermore, the applicant must present sufficient evidence to find that the variance will not be contrary to the public interest, and that special conditions exist such that a literal enforcement of the Ordinance will result in an unnecessary hardship. The Ordinance also states that a variance should not be approved unless the spirit and intent of the Ordinance is observed and substantial justice done to the applicant and the surrounding neighborhood. Variances are not intended to be granted frequently. The applicant must clearly show the Board that the request is due to very unusual characteristics of the property and that it satisfies the variance standards. What constitutes unnecessary hardship and substantial justice is a matter to be determined from the facts and circumstances of each application. The first sign is a 302.61 square-foot main wall identifier with the text Virginia College Career Center. This sign, as the main identifier, would be allowed by right as the one wall sign for a tenant in a multi-tenant site. At this same entrance, that applicants wish to place two 2.25 square-foot vinyl decals on the outside of the windows at ground level. Because these decals are on the outside of the window, they are considered wall signs, and are thus, not allowed. If the signs are placed on the inside of the glass, they would be allowed by right, and the applicant did not address what hardship, if any, prevents them from doing this. As such, this variance request should be denied. The second group of signs are an 83.97 square-foot wall identifier with the text V s Student Cosmetology Center, as well as ground level vinyl decals with the same text on the outside of the window. The second wall sign cannot be considered information because is contained a brand name and a logo. Removal of the logo and brand name to cause the sign to read Student Cosmetology Services would make the sign informational only, and would thus be allowed by the ordinance. Further, if the groundlevel vinyl decal signs are placed on the inside of the glass, they would be allowed by right. The applicant did not address what hardship, if any, prevents them from doing either of these modifications, and as such, this variance request should be denied.
The last sign is a 202.76 square-foot wall identifier with the text Virginia College, which is proposed to be located on the North side of the suite, on the wall that faces an accessway to Downtowner Boulevard. The applicant states that this sign is needed for visibility on the accessway. This request is similar to other requests that the Board has heard in the past and denied (specifically the Blu Rabbits Paradise and the Verizon Wireless variances on East I-65 Service Road South). There is no hardship that affects the visibility of the suite, and allowing Virginia College to place a sign here would open the door for every other tenant in the Festival Center to place a sign in the corridor. As such, this request should be denied.
RECOMMENDATION 5591 Date: January 4, 2010 Based on the preceding, this application is recommended for denial.