Staff recommends the following actions on the required waivers from the Design Guidelines:
1) Approve the waiver to decrease the signage setback to allow the existing signage at the right-of-way to remain since it is an existing legal nonconformity and the right-of-way of Technology Drive is 76 feet in front of the subject property and, since it is a local road, is only required to be 50 feet.
2) Approve the waiver to allow 2 signs for a nonresidential development since the signs have been installed for 21 years and are a brick structure of a more permanent nature than other types of yard signs and thus harder to remove.
3) Approve the waiver to allow the sign structure to exceed the sign's message area to allow the existing sign structures to remain since the structure is already built, so to come into compliance, the message area would need to be increased and staff finds the message area to be of an appropriate size and does not wish to see it increased.

Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for a Sign Permit, subject to the following condition:
1) Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Zoning Ordinance, as appropriate.

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Details of Action

Staff recommends the following actions on the required waivers from the Design Guidelines:
1) Approve the waiver to decrease the signage setback to allow the existing signage at the right-of-way to remain since it is an existing legal nonconformity and the right-of-way of Technology Drive is 76 feet in front of the subject property and, since it is a local road, is only required to be 50 feet.
2) Approve the waiver to allow 2 signs for a nonresidential development since the signs have been installed for 21 years and are a brick structure of a more permanent nature than other types of yard signs and thus harder to remove.
3) Approve the waiver to allow the sign structure to exceed the sign's message area to allow the existing sign structures to remain since the structure is already built, so to come into compliance, the message area would need to be increased and staff finds the message area to be of an appropriate size and does not wish to see it increased.

Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for a Sign Permit, subject to the following condition:
1) Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Zoning Ordinance, as appropriate.

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Staff Recommendation

Staff recommends the following actions on the required waivers from the Design Guidelines:
1) Approve the waiver to decrease the signage setback to allow the existing signage at the right-of-way to remain since it is an existing legal nonconformity and the right-of-way of Technology Drive is 76 feet in front of the subject property and, since it is a local road, is only required to be 50 feet.
2) Approve the waiver to allow 2 signs for a nonresidential development since the signs have been installed for 21 years and are a brick structure of a more permanent nature than other types of yard signs and thus harder to remove.
3) Approve the waiver to allow the sign structure to exceed the sign's message area to allow the existing sign structures to remain since the structure is already built, so to come into compliance, the message area would need to be increased and staff finds the message area to be of an appropriate size and does not wish to see it increased.

Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for a Sign Permit, subject to the following condition:
1) Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Zoning Ordinance, as appropriate.

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1) This is a request to replace the letters on two existing yard signs at the intersection of Cogdill Road and Technology Drive.
2) Both signs were installed with the construction of the building in 1991. However, there are no records of the signs being heard by the TTCDA, so staff believes the signs were installed without TTCDA approval. Waivers will be required for nonconformities since none have been issued prior.
3) Installation of the signs occurred prior to the construction of Cogdill Road, which occurred from 1995-1996. Part of the subject property was acquired for the construction of the right-of-way, which decreased the overall size of the property and moved the lot lines closer to the structure.
4) The above construction caused the existing outermost yard sign to come out of compliance with the 20-ft signage setback requirement along the Technology Drive lot line. This is considered a legal nonconformity since the sign's location met zoning requirements at its installation and came out of compliance due to the right-of-way acquisition. A waiver is needed to allow the sign to be closer than 20 feet from the Technology Drive right-of-way. Staff supports this waiver since it is an existing legal nonconformity, the right-of-way of Technology Drive is 76 feet in front of the subject property and is only required to be 50 feet since it is a local road, and the sign is still far removed from the actual pavement surface. This sign is placed at an angle facing southbound traffic at the intersection of Cogdill Road and Technology Drive. It is set back far enough to not block the visibility of drivers waiting to turn onto Cogdill Road from Technology Drive.
5) The second sign is placed in the landscaped area to the northwest of the building at the point where traffic entering the site must turn to enter the parking area. It is more visible from Technology Drive the aforementioned sign.
6) The TTCDA Guidelines only allow one yard sign for nonresidential developments, and this was also the case in 1991 when the signs were installed. A waiver is needed to allow more than one sign at this location. Staff supports the waiver request to allow the nonconformity to continue since the signs have been installed for 21 years and are a brick structure more permanent in nature than other types of yard signs that would be more easily removed.
7) Both sign structures are brick that matches the building. The sign's message area consists of the business logo and individual letters spelling out the business name applied directly to the brick.
8) Both signs are below the maximum height allowance of 6 feet.
9) The TTCDA Guidelines specify that the sign's message area is to be the measurement used to determine compliance with the maximum sign size. The message area can be no more than 1 square foot of sign for every linear foot of building frontage, not to exceed 100 square feet. The 100-ft maximum is applicable here since both frontages count towards the signage area allowance and measure more than 100 linear feet. Distributed over 2 signs, each having only 1 side, this equates to a maximum area allowance of 50 square feet per sign. Both signs are well below this, with the sign at the right-of-way being 11.44 square feet in area and the internal sign near the parking being 3.81 square feet in area.
10) The TTCDA Guidelines specify that the sign's outermost structure cannot exceed 1.5 times the sign's message area. The existing signs exceed that limitation and a waiver is being sought to increase the maximum overall signage area allowed. Staff supports this waiver due to the time the signs have already been in place and because, for the signs to come into compliance, the message area would need to be increased since the structure is already built. Staff finds the message area to be of an appropriate size and does not wish to see it increased. The applicant is further hindered in this regard by the fact that the signs are only 1-sided, comprising a smaller sign message area to use in decreasing the maximum sign structure that would be allowed.