Approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for a Sign Permit, subject to one condition, and recommends the actions listed below on the required waivers from the Design Guidelines:

WAIVER REQUEST RECOMMENDATION:
1) Increase the maximum allowable sign height from 6 ft to 6 ft 7 in (Guideline 4.3.3) because it is not out of character with the surrounding development.

APPROVE WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITION:
1) Meeting all relevant requirements of the Knox County Ordinance, as appropriate.

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Details of Action

Approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for a Sign Permit, subject to one condition, and recommends the actions listed below on the required waivers from the Design Guidelines:

WAIVER REQUEST RECOMMENDATION:
1) Increase the maximum allowable sign height from 6 ft to 6 ft 7 in (Guideline 4.3.3) because it is not out of character with the surrounding development.

APPROVE WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITION:
1) Meeting all relevant requirements of the Knox County Ordinance, as appropriate.

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Staff Recommendation

Based on the application and plans as submitted, staff recommends Approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for a Sign Permit, subject to one condition, and recommends the actions listed below on the required waivers from the Design Guidelines:

WAIVER REQUEST RECOMMENDATION:
1) Increase the maximum allowable sign height from 6 ft to 6 ft 7 in (Guideline 4.3.3) because it is not out of character with the surrounding development.

APPROVE WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITION:
1) Meeting all relevant requirements of the Knox County Ordinance, as appropriate.

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This is a request to add a new building sign and a two-sided monument sign to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on the southwest side of Cherahala Boulevard and north of Hardin Valley Road. The building sign will be placed above the main, front-facing entrance of the building on the east side. The monument sign will be placed at the driveway entrance from Charlevoix Road and Pentwater Drive, 20 ft from the right-of-way.

A Certificate of Appropriateness was approved in 2007 (case # 07.027.0) for two building signs and one single-sided monument sign. The applicant intends to decrease the number of building signs from two to one by removing the sign on the north side of the building.

PURSUANT TO ARTICLE V, SECTION 4 OF THE TTCDA ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND PROCEDURES, THE DECISION OF THE TTCDA TO APPROVE A SIGN MUST BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

A. CONFORMITY OF THE SIGN PROPOSAL WITH THE DESIGN GUIDELINES.
1. The proposed building and monument signage will have three colors: white, blue, and red, with a transparent matte finish.
2. The area of the proposed building sign will be approximately 53.5 sq ft. This is well within the maximum allowable area of 68 sq ft, based on the building's linear frontage.
3. The building sign will feature the company name and logo. It will be composed of an aluminum cabinet with push-thru acrylic lettering and illuminated white LED lighting. The sign will be mounted directly to the building façade and will not protrude above the height of the building.
3. The proposed two-sided monument sign will have a message area of 33.89 sq ft on each side, totaling 67.78 sq ft, which is within the allowable 68 sq ft.
4. A 1-ft tall stone masonry base was installed with the existing monument sign without prior TTCDA approval, making the sign height taller than the 6 ft shown on the plans approved by the TTCDA at the time. The height of the new sign, with the existing ground mount, is 6 ft 7 in, 7 inches over the allowable height per TTCDA Guideline 4.3.3. Because the stone mount is not out of character with the surrounding development, Planning supports a waiver to exceed the allowable signage height by 7 inches.
5. The monument sign will feature the company name and logo. It will be composed of aluminum with acrylic push-thru lettering and illuminated with white LED lighting.

B. RELATIONSHIP OF THE PROPOSED SIGNAGE TO SIGNAGE ON NEARBY PROPERTIES, IN TERMS OF SIZE, LOCATION, MATERIALS, AND COLOR
1. The proposed signs are in proportion with signs in the vicinity.